Tk 14.37b project soon for 50 municipalities

The government is set to take up a Tk 14.37 billion project aiming to streamline service delivery system, especially construction of roads, surface drains and waste management in 50 municipalities, officials said. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will be proposed...

Celebrating a visionary in child health sector

The Institute Of Child Health (ICH) and Shishu Sasthaya Foundation Bangladesh (SSFB) Hospital at Mirpur,  Dhaka set up by National Professor and senior-most pediatrician of the country Dr  M.R. is an epoch-making organisation in the health sector of the country....

Shot in the womb

This is perhaps for the first time in this country that a baby was shot even before his birth. She received the bullet injury in her mother's womb and had to be delivered prematurely in order to save her and...

\\\'Second generation\\\' reforms to lure investment

That the country's investment climate is not particularly conducive was again highlighted at a discussion meeting, jointly organized by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) in Dhaka last Saturday....

Stocks inch up amid choppy trading

Stocks inched slightly higher on Sunday amid volatile trading throughout the session as investors followed cautious stance. The market moved between positive and negative territory throughout the session and finally landed in green. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka...

Stocks open positive amid volatility

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hour of trading on Sunday amid choppy trading, the first trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up...

Cooler weather but colder cricket

Komen drifted away after sweeping Bangladesh’s coastal districts two days ago but has left a wet and cooler weather for the countrymen to cope with. However, the cricket remains colder as no balls rolled at Sher-e-Bangla in the capital due...

Friendship Day being celebrated

The International Day of Friendship is being celebrated in Bangladesh on Sunday. The day is a very special for youths, juveniles and children. Youngsters have been thronging gift shops and shopping malls to buy special gifts for their friends in...

Joint audit by 3 wings to check tax dodging by cos

The possibility of introducing an integrated joint audit by customs, VAT and income-tax officials in accordance with a global model is under review by the revenue board to help check tax dodging by large and medium-sized companies. Officials said the...

Controversy over effectiveness of FRA still on

The enactment of the much-talked-about Financial Reporting Act (FRA) has been deferred as the bill that was scheduled to be passed in the budget session of the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) has been sent back to the parliamentary standing committee for...

All that glitters in tourism is not gold

Like the Japanese tourists in the late 20th century, the rising number of free-spending Chinese tourists now appears to be most sought after in both the industrialised and emerging countries as a means of boosting their economies. Or if you...

Ailing BJMC jute mills a burden on government

The Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) operates 26 jute mills and employs about 60,000 workers. At the moment the mills are running at half of their capacity. The problem of the corporation is that it can not buy raw jute...

Organic waste potential still remains untapped: Experts

When the two city corporations in Dhaka strive to manage tonnes of waste, a significant portion of such garbage is recycled by a section of people who help develop a waste-based market, not less than a billion taka. Market insiders...

Stocks break four-week gaining spell

Stocks edged slightly lower last week that ended Thursday, breaking four-week gaining spell, as investors were cautious amid mixed corporate earnings news and concerned over monetary policy statement. The Bangladesh Bank Thursday announced an 'accommodative' monetary policy for the first...

Pubali Bank\\\'s writ pending with HC for three years

A dispute over the legality of an IPO approval by the securities regulator has been pending for the last three years with the court in absence of 'necessary initiative' from the petitioner concerned, insiders said. Pubali Bank Ltd filed the...

Motorcycle sales drop further

The country's motorcycle sales further dropped after Supplementary Duty was raised in the 2015-16 budget, industry insiders said. The sales of motorcycles have been continuously decreasing in last five years due to higher prices, manufacturers and dealers said. Almost all...

Iran deal: Challenges, opportunities and impact

Long lasting negotiation between Iran and P5+1(Five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany) on Iran's nuclear issue came to an end with the historic 'Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action' in Vienna on 14th of July, 2015. In the...

A tribute to the ‘Missile Man of India’

Born into the modest surroundings of a Muslim family in Tamil Nadu, a young boy once traded newspapers both to support his family and make ends meet. Somehow, the brilliant lad was destined to become the formal head of the...

Green stocks: Green investment, green return

Production of goods and services, investment, laws and policies all have their respective impact on the environment. There are many eco-friendly financial instruments available in the world today. Some of these are eco-investment, green investment, green banking, green stocks, green...

Defence against violence at its worst

It is said not for nothing that violence takes place in the mind. When mind goes deranged, a person can do the unthinkable. Even then there should, for rationality's sake, a limit to cruelty a human being is capable of....

Rodents that stalk food security

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury told  Parliament recently that food grains, including paddy, rice and wheat, worth around Tk 7.23 billion (723.72 crore) were damaged by rats in the fiscal year 2014-15. The Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) research has...

Reparations for colonisation

There is a 15-minute video on YouTube that everyone interested in pre-1947 Indian history of which India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all equal stakeholders, must watch. It is a speech by Shashi Tharoor in London recently. There were seven other...

A balanced FRA for transparency in financial reporting

The enactment of the Financial Reporting Act (FRA) and subsequent formation of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) are faced with hurdles mainly due to strong opposition by the country's chartered accountants (CAs). From the very beginning the Institute of Chartered...

Flyovers fail to ease city traffic gridlocks

Even though seven flyovers and overpasses were constructed in the capital over the last decade, experts hardly find them an effective solution to nagging traffic jam. They consider the flyovers and overpasses built without taking long-term plan into account as...

Ship breakers in trouble, seek loan restructuring

Ship-breakers have urged the government to restructure their loans and set up a special fund to help them overcome what they call "big crisis". In a letter to the finance minister, the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association said the government should...

Dhaka mulling over proposing Delhi to trade cattle thru\\\' border haats

The government contemplates proposing India to start formal cattle trading through border haats (markets) as concern grows over supply during the Eid-ul-Azha to be celebrated in late September, officials said. Indian law enforcement agencies enforced an "informal" ban on cross-border...

Concern about Indian river-link move

On July 13, 2015 the Indian government announced that it would soon take up the mega task of connecting Teesta-Ganga-Manas-Sankosh rivers across the states of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar in consultation with the governments of the respective states. An...

APJ Kalam: Soaring human spirit

The man who made it a point that there must not be an official holiday, rather an extra day of work, might as well wish no mourning on his physical demise. For it is no more than his bodily absence;...

Assessing Bangladesh\\\'s status as lower middle-income country

Bangladesh's recent promotion to lower middle- income status by the World Bank has created extensive discussion in the media on its implications and path forward for the economy. For instance, Dr. Biru Paksha Paul carried out an interesting exercise, based...

Komen may strike midnight: Maya says 300,000 evacuated

Cyclone ‘Komen’ is likely to move in a northerly direction and may cross Chittagong coast near Sandwip by Thursday midnight, the latest bulletin of the Met Office says. Meanwhile, Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said they are fully...