Economic cost of hartal and blockade

One of the greatest thinkers of the current time, who happens to be a Bengali, Amartya Sen said 'Silence is a powerful enemy of social justice (The Argumentative Indian, p-39)'. From the dawn of their emergence as a nation until...

Customs deals likely to stop duty evasion

Government authorities have decided to sign customs deals with many countries of the world to check duty evasion, done mainly by means of smuggling in goods and invoice tampering, official sources said.    The under-and over-invoicing tricks are also allegedly applied...

Move to extend time for building third Shitalakhya bridge by 2018

A move is under way to extend the time of completing the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge project to 2018 as its tenure ended last month without starting its construction work over an issue of appointing a consultant. Officials said the department...

Japan-funded projects see poor progress

Japan has expressed its concern over poor implementation rate of projects it has funded under official development assistance (ODA) scheme in Bangladesh, officials said. In nine months (April-December 2014) of Japanese fiscal year (JFY), some 25 billion Japanese yen were...

Combating mosquito menace

The bifurcated Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) seems to be indifferent to the need for eradicating mosquitoes. For the last few months mosquito menace has assumed an alarming proportion much to the sufferings of the city dwellers. This tiny creature has...

MoFA seeks fund for essential programmes\\\' implementation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has sought immediate allocation from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for implementation of some of its selected essential programmes, officials said.     Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has recently sent a letter to Finance...

Global financial crisis continues to harass big economies

Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has badly affected the economies of some countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. World economy has been experiencing the worst impact of GFC since the depression started in 2008. Many giant and strong economies have...

Promoting SMEs

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for a greater share of industries in Bangladesh. These have been playing the lead role in creating entrepreneurship as well as generating jobs. As large businesses need huge amounts of capital and professional skills...

Image of Islam tarnished by violent few

Events in Paris last week were beyond anybody's imagination. No expression can capture the horror unleashed by weapons of war in the civil society of France. Murdering 12 French citizens including 10 journalists on Wednesday and killing four hostages later...

Setting up 6.0m solar home systems on time \\\'possible\\\'

The target of installing six million solar home systems (SHSs) in the country and thus generating 220 megawatt (mw) electricity from renewable energy by 2017 can be fulfilled, sources said. Some 3.5 million SHSs were set up across the country...

Big banks park beat-up energy sector bonds in US money funds

Big European and American banks have found a productive place to park the energy sector's most distressed debt: the $2.7 trillion US money market industry. Barclays Bank plc, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo and others get overnight and short-term loans...

After string of jet crashes, a struggle to re-train pilots

As investigators hunt for what caused an AirAsia jet to crash in an equatorial storm on December 28, the aviation industry is still struggling to apply the lessons of accidents in similar weather over the past decade. It is too...

In poor New York neighbourhoods, residents ask: Where are the police?

On the sidewalk of a public housing development in Brooklyn, New York notorious for gang violence and drug activity, the words "Fascist pig, go home!" in black spray paint are fading but still legible. These are the Marcy Houses, 27...

Professional education in Bangladesh

In the last decade, the professional education industry in Bangladesh has generated a high amount of interest ofinvestors, due to the rapid development evident in many sectors as well as the arrival of different multinational companies. Professional education includes any...

DITF sees rush of visitors despite blockade

FE Report The Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) drew a large number of visitors on Friday after experiencing poor turnout in the last few days because of the BNP-led 20-party's nationwide indefinite blockade. Taking the advantage of a relax-mannered blockade...

PMO’s plan of actions for safeguarding Sundarbans

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has issued a plan of actions aiming to safeguard of the Sundarbans, officials said. Under the move, the office has sent 14-point suggestions for urgent execution of the plan and directed the ministries, departments and...

Stocks edge up as choppy politics shatters investors\\\' sentiment

Stocks edged up last week that ended Thursday after previous week's sharp gain as investors were fearful about the political turmoil in the country. The week featured four trading sessions like previous three weeks as market was closed Sunday on...

Local output of drug raw materials up 100pc in a decade

Local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the main raw materials of drugs industry, has grown by 100 per cent over the last decade, creating new export market and a strong base of backward linkage for this sector, officials and...

BTRC backtracks from scrapping licences of 2 gateway operators

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has backtracked from its earlier decision to cancel licences of two international gateway (IGW) operators -- Ratul Telecom and Kay Telecom -- over the payment they owe the regulator, officials said. "We've taken the...

Piracy along national coast doubled in 2014

Piracy and armed robbery along Bangladesh's coasts, especially near sea and river ports, have doubled, raising the number of incidents to 11 in 2014 from six in 2013, officials said. The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery...

Entrepreneurial ideas for employment generation

Bangladesh is one of the most potential least developed countries (LDC) with its total GDP (gross domestic product) hovering around US$ 140 billions. GDP growth rate per year was about 5.5 - 6.5 per cent during the last decade. Contribution...

Remembering an icon of ethical business practices

Samson H Chowdhury will always be remembered for his hard work, dedication and research for excellence in entrepreneurship. A self-made man, he should be the role model for those entrepreneurs who aspire to attain innovation, leadership and perseverance not only...

Business in the Digital Age: Need for quality trainers

High-quality global business requires investment - investment in skill redevelopment and capacity bolstering, among others. In today's unprecedented talent crunch, the services industry in particular is grappling with the problem of developing leadership, talent, risk awareness and, of course, the...

Industrialisation through use of policy space

Over the last few months, there has been increasing public discourse about two strategic documents. One is global with national implications - the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the post-2015 framework that will replace the much-celebrated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)....

A visit to Maheshkhali

If the historical background of the Adinath Temple at Maheshkhali has any validity, the 362.2-sq km island derives its name from God Mahadev whose other name is Mahesh. Maheshkhali, according to the myth, comes from Mahesh. In the booklet available...

Planned \\\'Stand Alone Fund\\\' stands still

A novel government initiative to launch a fund styled 'Stand Alone Fund' to boost country image abroad couldn't take off for delays in making necessary money available, officials said. Allocation for overseas campaign funds to mobilize support for the government...

Shallow, short-tempered and violent

Once again viewing television programme has been a cause of a tragic death. This time it is more than death -a plain murder, to go by reports carried in the media. Once again, the watching involved one on the Indian...

\\\'Nexus\\\' of fixing indicative price alleged

The latest amendment to the Book Building (BB) method has yielded little results due mainly to alleged 'nexus' of institutional investors in fixation of indicative price of the companies moved to go public, insiders and experts said. They said the...

BD ready to export rice to India

Bangladesh is all set to export rice to India as it is now waiting to get response from the latter over price proposals, officials said. The country sent price proposals to India last month.   "We had sent a letter to...

Yingluck\\\'s impeachment to test Thai junta\\\'s fragile calm

Thailand's legislature will start impeachment hearings this week against former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who faces a lengthy political ban that could test a delicate calm established after a military coup last year. The case hands the ruling junta its...