Installation of cancer machine faces deadlock in KMCH

JHENIDAH, Feb 16: Cancer patients seeking treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) suffers a lot as there is no radiotherapy machine to give them proper treatment. There are so many such machines working in different medical colleges, sources said....

Online book trading gaining ground

Online book sale getting popularity in the country thanks to the people's wider access to Internet that helps them get desired titles at market prices, insiders said.   They said although it is a new concept in book business, the platform...

Tk 3.70b project taken for maritime safety

The government has taken up a project involving over Tk 3.70 billion (370 crore) for safety of maritime system, officials said. The project titled "Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Integrated Maritime Navigation System (EGIMNS)" initiated by the...

MoC meets today to devise battle plan on prices

The government is going to draw up a plan far a head of the month of Ramadan to battle prices of some key essential items, officials have said. The ministry of commerce (MoC) holds a meeting today (Monday) with that...

PwC projects BD to be 23rd largest economy in 2050

Bangladesh will become the world's 23rd largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2050, says the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its latest report on global economy. The PwC projection showed that Bangladesh would outnumber developed countries like Australia...

Casting in concrete to help extend life of highways

At least Tk 100 billion will be needed to transform the flexibly built road network into a durable one as per the desire of the prime minister, according to estimates done by experts. The concrete roads have better life-span and...

Infrastructure constraints are a roadblock

The table, Pillars of Performance, highlights the score that Bangladesh gets for 29 of the 114 parameters and juxtaposes them with the average for the world. The scale runs from 1-7 with 7 being the best and 1 the lowest....

HR development: Banking perspective

Partnering with and placement of skilled, experienced and responsible workforces is a daunting task for HR (human resources) function in any business arena, particularly in service-oriented industry. HR professionals in general hire and fire workers, assist with employment paperwork, manage...

Expectation from World Cup cricket

Now that cricket's ultimate gala gets going, the game's followings the world over are bracing themselves for some thrilling and pulsating encounters. The media in particular are smart enough to fan emotion, passion, individual or collective obsession and general euphoria...

Fine-tuning development administration

Various government agencies have a very poor record as far as the rate of implementation of development projects initiated by them is concerned. It seems that the situation is turning from bad to worse with the passage of time. The...

Quality audit: Interaction at planning stage

Over the years the nature and technique of auditing has undergone lot of changes in developed as well as in some developing countries. The ripple has also touched Bangladesh. As a result, new ideas and techniques are replacing old ones...

Progress made but still a long way to go

There is no reason why Bangladesh cannot achieve a higher growth rate than its current one. The country is still in the low-income group, and is aspiring to enter the low end of middle-income group by 2021. Bangladesh's economic competitiveness...

BB governor for e-currency to fit in digital Bangladesh

The central bank mulls over introducing electronic money-better known as e-currency-on a pilot basis in the process of digitization of Bangladesh. Saying adieu to paper currency and metal coin is a brainchild of the Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), as...

Eclectic is a democratic approach to teach language

The eclectic approach is the label given to a teacher's use of techniques and activities from a range of language teaching approaches and methodologies. The teacher decides what methodology or approach to use depending on the aims of the lesson...

$350m WB project to build financial sector regulators\\\' capacity

The World Bank (WB) has come up with a US$350 million project aiming at strengthening supervisory and monitoring capacity of Bangladesh's financial sector regulators, officials said. The project may get approval by May next. A WB team last week discussed...

Freelance software programmers can double the income with govt backing

Freelance software programmers outsourcing jobs from the Western countries may double their income if they are supported by the government, sources said. Former president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Fahim Masroor said more than 50,000 active...

BEZA to offer one-stop services to investors

The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has initiated a move to offer one-stop services to the investors to help them get required support for investment. With the introduction of one-stop services, developers of the economic zones and industrial units will...

Stocks break 4-week losing jinx defying political strife

The market rebounded last week that ended Thursday after witnessing bearish trend in the past four consecutive weeks as investors were in buying spree throughout the week defying ongoing political gridlock. The week featured five trading sessions as usual and...

Taka in history

It was recently my pleasure to tour the Bangladesh Bank's new Taka Museum, at the invitation of my old colleague, Dr Md Rezaul Karim, now a curator at that facility. I was warmly welcomed by Mr Parimal Chandra Chakraborty, Deputy...

Causes of the clash of civilisations and criticism

Critics of Huntington's ideas often extend their criticisms to traditional cultures and internal reformers who wish to modernise without adopting the values and attitudes of Western culture. These critics sometimes claim that to modernise is necessarily to become Westernised to...

No accurate statistics yet on rural economy

Although the agricultural sector provides one-fifths of GDP and employs roughly two-thirds of the country's workforce, there has been very little attempt to improve agricultural statistics. These are alleged to be of dubious quality leading to confusing and misleading policy...

Large revenue stuck up as ADR fails to click

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is yet to prove an effective tool to realise large amount of stuck-up revenue with cases filed by businesses piled-up in court. Response of taxpayers to resolution of disputes over Value Added Tax (VAT) has been...

MoRTB seeks Tk 15b extra

The Road Transport and Highways Division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) has sought an additional allocation of Tk 15 billion (1,500 crore) for implementation of its mega and metro-rail projects properly. Officials said Tk 71.98 billion...

Green signal for Navy engagement

The government has given a green signal to engaging Bangladesh Navy in the Mongla-Ghasiakhali river channel dredging work under the direct purchase method to ensure quality of the work, officials said. The ministry of shipping (MoS) recently approved a proposal...

Blockade pulls down Jan 1-17 import orders

The overall import orders plummeted in the first three weeks of January, as mainly the ongoing political turmoil slowed economic activity, trade and investment in the country, officials said Wednesday. The opening of letters of credit (LC) against imports --...

Language failure diminishes a people

The making of this country owes largely to the language of the land. In fact, language-inspired nationalism guided its people to their liberation from colonial rule. After 44 years of its independence, therefore, the mother tongue Bangla should have coursed...

Basel III: Scope for improving the Guideline

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) issued 'Guidelines on Risk-Based Capital Adequacy (Revised Regulatory Capital Framework for banks in line with Basel III)' vide BRPD circular no. 18 dated December 21, 2014 (hereinafter referred as Guideline for brevity). The final Guideline was...

BD proposes energy swap with Myanmar

The government is exploring the option to import gas from Myanmar and export electricity to that country under an energy-swap proposal already on the toss.     Officials said the Government of Myanmar, in principle, has agreed to a proposal put forward...

DNCRP settles 92.58pc complaints in 5 years

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) settled 92.58 per cent of a total of 661 complaints during the last five years and realised fine to the tune of more than Tk 97 million from unscrupulous traders for violating...

Blockade takes toll on flower growers

The ongoing countrywide blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance is taking its toll on both flower growers and traders as transport of flowers is being disrupted seriously. Due to supply shortage, flowers may not be available as per demand...