BR\\\'s buying spree amidst low manpower capacity

The Bangladesh Railway (BR), apparently, is now in a buying frenzy.  It has purchased a good number of locomotives, passenger coaches, wagons and DEMU trains from different sources with both hard and soft foreign loans. It intends to procure many...

Why war crimes charges now extend to the destruction of ancient monuments

For the first time, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has opened war crimes proceedings against an Islamist militant accused of leading in the destruction of historical monuments. The charges reflect a heightened global concern about the safety of...

Stocks tumble on panic sales

Stocks fell sharply on Sunday with turnover remaining sluggish as investors went on panic-driven sell-offs.  Stock trading resumed with a dismal note in the morning which continued till closure of the session. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock...

DSE, CSE plunge at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed steep fall in early hour of trading on Sunday, the opening day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, plummeted 26.17 points or 0.54 per...

BD to sit with USA for talks under Ticfa in Nov

Bangladesh is expected to sit with the United States in Washington in November for bilateral talks under the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (Ticfa) umbrella amid disappointments over the denial of GSP facility for export. Sources said the US...

Clustering approach in SME development

In this era of liberalisation and globalisation, creation of demands depends on the ability of SMEs to improve their efficiency and productivity and to adapt to and be flexible as regards market, product, technology, management, and organization. As the era...

Golden Rice may or may not augur well

A group of Bangladeshi rice scientists, according to an English daily, have successfully completed lab trial of  the famous (and also debated) Golden Rice, a genetically engineered type of rice that would contain biosynthesised beta-carotene, an antecedent of vitamin A....

Nobel Peace Prize 2015: The success of Jasmine Revolution

Growing up, from my readings of the Tales from the Arabian Nights, I knew that over the rainbow, beyond the oceans, hills and plains, across the deserts, mountains and towering dunes - sandwiched between Algeria and Libya, there was a...

Vast marine debris found in Bay, poses threat to life

Vast amounts of marine debris have been found in the Bay of Bengal. These are non-disposable, posing a grave threat to marine life, marine economy and human health, according to a study. The study report titled 'Bangladesh Marine Debris Report...

Transforming Dhaka into a clean city

Dhaka City's liveability index has been only second to Damask from the negative order. The difference though is stark. The Syrian capital is at the bottom because of the war, armed clashes between warring factions including the most dreaded Islamic...

Literacy and sustainable development

World Literacy Day is celebrated worldwide every year on 8th September. This year UNESCO declared the theme of this day as "Literacy and Sustainable Societies." Literacy is a key driver for sustainable development. To create a sustainable society, learning of...

Success of value chains: Lessons from ASEAN

The concept of 'Value Chain' was first introduced by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School. Porter, who also developed the 'Five Forces Model' that enabled many businesses and companies to figure out how well they can compete in the...

DSE attracts Ctg-based cos to go public

A delegation of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) recently arranged meetings with top officials of Chittagong-based KDS Group, PHP Group and Mostafa Group in the port city. The DSE presented proper guidelines to go public before the companies’ top policy-makers and...

SCB plans to double its retail banking

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) has planned to double its business size of retail banking in Bangladesh within next five years, a top executive of the bank said. "We're working to double our retail banking business size in Bangladesh by 2020," ...

Undisclosed Tk 6.76b whitened in FY 15

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) received about Tk 6.76 billion undisclosed money from some 222 taxpayers, who voluntarily whitened the amount in last fiscal year (FY), 2014-15. The tax authority received Tk 275.4 million income tax from the declared...

Making medical admission test credible

Question and question paper leaks have smeared time and again the credibility of public examinations, admission tests and written examinations for public services and the judiciary. The allegation of similar leaks of questions of the latest admission test for the...

Japan, the \\\'Asian NATO\\\', in the Bay

Bangladesh and Japan have enjoyed better than cordial relations from the very start: when China and the United States took the side of Pakistan during our war of independence, Japan avoided the fray, permitting relations to flower after 1971. From...

Regional Standards for South Asia

In a bid to overcome the prolonged complexity of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) in South Asia, the move to set up the South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO) is important. The regional body started in operation last year having its secretariat...

Stocks end lower with choppy trading

Stocks ended marginally lower Thursday amid volatile trading with turnover falling further as most of the investors remained watchful. After witnessing volatility throughout the trading session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), came down below the...

Stocks open positive

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hour of trading on Thursday, the last session of the week. After the first 30 minutes of trading, DSEX, the prime index of the...

Coordinated efforts, legal framework reform must to curb illicit fund flows

Two official committees have suggested reforms of the legal framework and coordinated efforts on the part of all relevant agencies to help stop illicit fund flows. They, however, found the assigned job a challenging one. The observation was made at...

Risks remain as bidding process starts this month

The authorities concerned have set a target to start tendering on the work for establishing a dedicated bus lane from Gazipur to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) this month amid challenges of land acquisition, utility line relocation and traffic management....

Fresh list readied for duty-free market access to Nepal

Bangladesh will place a fresh list of products seeking duty-free access to Nepal at the bilateral commerce secretary-level meeting to be held in mid-October, officials said. Kathmandu has so far agreed to offer nominal preferential access to 50 Bangladeshi products...

CreADive, a business case contest for varsity goers

The Second episode of CreADive, an inter university business communication and advertisement making business competition organised by Bangladesh University of Professionals' Communication Club (BUPCC), has been launched this month. The first round selected 24 teams for the second round after...

Standards to increase productivity

A standard is an agreed way of doing something. It could be about making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials. Standards cover a wide range of activities undertaken by organizations and used by their customers....

Education sector in chaos

Education remains a matter of paramount importance in every nation's life. It deepens the understanding of the surrounding environment and the world. It enriches people's minds, moral and ethical standards by broadening their experiences and outlook. It strengthens people's ability...

Demography in the driving seat

An important element of analysing livelihood system in any society is its demographic characteristics. A society might be poor in terms of endowments of natural resources but given appropriate policies and their proper implementations, a developed human resource base could...

Another \\\'routine\\\' mass shooting in US

This time it is Oregon. Another mass shooter carried out another mass killing and the gun laws are again under national focus in the United States. This time, 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer turned his weapons on students in a community...

Stocks slip into red with low turnover

Stocks ended lower on Wednesday, after remaining flat in the last two trading sessions, as investors went on selling spree following dismal export earnings data.  The market opened with mixed trends and fell steadily almost throughout the session. DSEX, the...

DSE, CSE down at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw downward trend in early hour of trading on Wednesday, after previous session’s flat movement. After the first 30 minutes of trading, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE,...