Old Victorians recall respected Principal Akhter Hamid Khan

The 100th birth anniversary of Akhter Hamid Khan,  ex-principal of Comilla Victoria College and the founder of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development was observed at CIRDAP auditorium, Dhaka by the old Victorians (ex-students of Comilla Victoria College) and ex -...

MoC sits in Nov to devise price battle on essentials

The ministry of commerce (MoC) will sit next month (November) to devisee a mechanism for keeping prices of essential items stable in the domestic market, officials said. A meeting of the MoC committee concerned, scheduled for November 2, is expected...

MoS looks into graft allegation over Pangaon ICT vessels

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) are investigating alleged irregularities in collecting three vessels for the Pangaon ICT (Inland Container Terminal), official sources have said. They launched the investigation following a recent request by Finance...

Ill-conceived ‘Doel’ laptop project gasping for life

A much-needed initiative to build partnership with private firms for revival of the domestic laptop-assembling project gains ground as shortage of funds and alleged management lapses have virtually stalled the production process, officials said. Under the move, the state-owned Telephone...

e-GP project going on at a snail’s pace

The electronic government procurement (e-GP) project, aimed at ensuring good governance by replacing the current complex tendering system with an easy and accessible one, is going on at a snail's pace.    The online-based system is yet to gain a firm...

Banks biggest ‘casualty’ as stocks break seven-week winning streak

Stocks witnessed a significant correction last week, breaking a seven-week winning streak as investors' confidence enfeebled after quarterly earnings reports of the listed firms. The third quarter corporate earnings of the listed companies started rolling out and many showed poor...

Of maritime boundary: The battle of the Bay of Bengal

The UN Permanent Court of Arbitration (UN-PCA) has recently given its judgment on the maritime boundary delimitation dispute between India and Bangladesh. The award is final having no recourse to appeal. However, it has left some special issues for future...

Challenges pharmaceutical industry faces

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most potential sectors for industrial diversification in Bangladesh, as the country can be highly competitive and enjoy comparative advantages in both short and medium terms in this sector. BACKGROUND AND PRESENT STATUS: Multinational...

Imported transformer likely to be dearer

Imported transformer, an electrical device, would be dearer as the customs wing has withdrawn the duty-benefit on the item to support local manufacturing industries. Transformer importers were enjoying only 2.0 per cent customs duty as capital machinery on import of...

ICCB confce to herald a new era through brainstorming sessions

The International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) hopes the ensuing international conference will create a new platform of thoughts combining 'provocative and interesting minds' with core people from the global businesses. "We hope the two-day long conference will herald a new...

WB to give technical aid to expand farm insurance

The World Bank (WB) is set to provide technical assistance to Bangladesh to expand agriculture insurance aiming to help improve farmers' resilience to shocks, official sources said. "A well-designed agriculture insurance programme can contribute to the reduction of farmers' vulnerability...

No law as traffic rule violators go scot-free

Violators of traffic rules easily escape punishment in the absence of appropriate laws although the number of road accidents has increased. On the other hand, the authorities are taking a long time to enact a new law in this regard....

ACC to include two members for extensive investigation

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to include two members for extensive investigation into the allegation of swindling of about Tk 13 billion from 14 commercial banks and financial institutions by Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited (ASSL), a ship...

Grooming global citizens for 21st century

"We must foster global citizenship. Education is about more than literacy and numeracy. It is also about citizenry. Education must fully assume its essential role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies." - UN Secretary-General Ban...

Beyond heaps of information

Now is the time for information explosion, courtesy of internet and the media. But the surge of information leaves one wondering if too much of it is adding as much to the human knowledge pool as they should have. This...

Utilising the market for the common good

There is little doubt that the market can be made to operate for the common good if an organised society ensures that even while working freely the market is geared to assist social development. In the context of the hopes...

MTB celebrates 15th anniversary today

Mutual Trust Bank Ltd (MTB) will celebrate its 15th anniversary today (Friday). "In less than two decades, MTB became a benchmark in the modern tech-savvy banking industry and we strive to embrace technology in a more accomplished way for the...

Time extension to meet Boro procurement target sought

The Directorate General of Food (DGoF) has urged the ministry of food (MoF) to allow 15 days more for fulfilling the ongoing Boro procurement target as it could not complete its task on time, officials said. The DGoF, in a...

MoA activities hit hard by acute manpower shortage

An acute manpower shortage has severely hit day to day activities of the departments and agencies under the ministry of agriculture (MoA) across the country, official sources said.   They said field level offices of the departments and agencies of the...

DSE turnover dips to 6-week low

Stocks edged lower for the second running session today (Thursday) with turnover dipped to 6-week low on the major bourse as the investors followed cautious stance. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down further by...

Stocks mixed at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) witnessed positive trend while the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw negative trend in early hours of trading on Thursday, the last session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by...

Banks\\\' 1/3 default loans stuck in trade-financing

Almost one-third of the total default loans are now stuck in trade-financing and banks are in deep trouble with their recovery.    The trade-financing covers credits for export and import, apparel and clothing and loan against trust receipt (LTR). More than...

Protecting rights of the aged

Bangladesh, as one of the disaster hotspots in the world, has significantly improved its disaster management capacity both at national and local levels. Efforts have been made to address disaster risks and uplift living status of the marginalised groups Surprisingly,...

The economic reality: A binocular world

In the final analysis, therefore, ours is still a binocular world. The basic schism among nations (as within nations) is still between the rich and the poor. Aptly has it been observed: "As in a democratic nation-state each citizen is...

Global remittance and Bangladesh

To the delight of many, there is a spike in the remittance earnings of manpower exporting countries in recent months. Bangladesh is not only one of these countries but ranks among top ten remittance-earning countries in the world. The surge...

Govt to seek foreign fund soon to build Paira port

Bangladesh will soon seek foreign fund to build the country's third sea port Paira on government to government (G to G) basis, official sources said. The decision has been taken after the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved a proposal...

Govt to import 0.25m tonnes of wheat from Ukraine

Bangladesh will import 0.25 million tonnes of wheat from Ukraine under the government-to-government (G-to-G) basis, officials said. The Ministry of Food (MoF) has already placed a proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Purchase for approval of the wheat import after...

Stocks stumble

Stocks returned to the red on Wednesday, after previous session's sharp gain as investors went for selling spree to book quick profit. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 63.66 points or 1.21 per...

Deal on trade in goods may bring BD significant gains

Bangladesh may reap significant revenue gains even after signing agreement on trade in goods under the BIMSTEC Free Trade Area (FTA) regime, a government study predicts. "Though the above simulation presents the possible scenario of revenue loss, there is an...

Use of IPO funds and missing accountability

Companies are expected to furnish true and fair information in their respective prospectuses while mobilizing funds from the primary market. This is necessary to help investors analyse the past financial performances of companies and know about their future plans to...