New strategy to cut bank borrowing

The government considers amending the Bangladesh Coinage Order, 1972 with a view to transforming the notes and coins of taka-five denomination into government currency, officials said. If amended, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) believes this will help the government cut...

Demat form of open-end mutual funds soon

The paper units of open-end mutual funds (MFs) are likely to be dematerialised as part of the regulatory move to accelerate the transaction of such MFs, officials said. "The days of paper shares and units are gone. That's why we...

Exports of chemical items grow 20pc

Exports of the country's chemical items posted 20 per cent growth in the July-May period of the current fiscal, despite total export falls against target. Industry people attributed the significant growth to the better quality of local products and their...

Removing prevailing inequality in society

Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes in Bangladesh are diverse in structure and scope reflecting variations in demographic characteristics, seasonal, ecological and social status. To make a specific classification, this paper identifies three models of SSN programmes in Bangladesh: The first...

All modes of transport on ceaseless rise on overcrowded Dhaka streets

All modes of transport -- from private car to public bus and rickshaw -- are on a continuous rise in the city far surpassing its road capacity as the authorities look over a looming crisis. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA)...

WB offers $280m for dredging Indo-Bangladesh transit route

The World Bank holds out US$280 million in soft loan to pave the way for enhanced inland water-transport services along Dhaka-Chittagong corridor which is also a protocol route for Indo-Bangladesh trade and transit, officials said. They said the country office...

Tk 400m to come from internal resources, Tk 3.71b from UGC

A Tk 4.25 billion (425 crore) revenue budget for Dhaka University (DU) for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2015-2016 is set to be placed before the university's Senate today (Saturday), sources have said. According to documents, a major portion of...

Stocks edge lower amid dull trading

Stocks ended lower last week that ended Thursday, the first week of the holy Month of Ramadan, as investors were cautious due to June closing and reduced trading time. The week featured five trading sessions as usual and all five...

Microcredit regulator to get new life as DFID extends project

The United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) has extended the project, which was taken up eight years ago to  strengthen the microfinance regulator, an official said. The DFID provided Tk 370 million in 2007 to help build capacity of...

Significance of silent reading

Reading education materials is a primary aspect in the process of learning and being educated. Two patterns are followed by the readers as far as education is concerned - loud/oral reading and silent reading. Knowing the variation between loud and...

Allama Muhammad Iqbal - A philosopher poet

Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 1877 - 21 April 1938), widely known as Allama Iqbal, was an academic, poet, barrister, philosopher, and politician in British India who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is considered one of...

Mitigating miseries of the hard-core poor

The demographic structure has been changing rapidly not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Like other developing countries, Bangladesh is passing the second stage of demographic transition where the population growth rate is higher than birth rate....

Ranking of schools and colleges: Quantity vs quality

Every year we become flabbergasted by the number of students who get Grade Point Average (GPA)-5 in secondary and Higher secondary exams.  And the number is ever increasing. At the same time, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of university students...

Revitalising postal finance

Two separate news items on postal-based finance have appeared in two different newspapers in two countries -- Bangladesh and India-- within a week. The Bangladeshi newspaper depicts a sad picture of the country's postal financing. It reports that despite being...

No lease of BIWTA ferry terminals from July

The government will cancel lease of all the BIWTA-owned ferry terminals from next month to stop passengers' harassment and ensure their safe journey during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival, officials said.   "We have decided to cancel the lease of all ferry...

Forex reserve crosses record $25b mark

The country's foreign exchange (forex) reserve crossed the US$25 billion mark for the first time Thursday following steady growth of both export earnings and flow of inward remittances. The reserve rose to $25.02 billion on the day, setting a new...

India for speedy transhipment thru\\\' Ashuganj

India has expressed willingness to start transhipment of goods through Ashuganj river-port, and requested an immediate meeting of the joint technical committee (JTC) to settle the relevant issues, officials said. During the bilateral shipping secretary-level talks in New Delhi on...

Connectivity accord without any assessment

Economists and analysts have opined that the recent signing of the 22 agreements for multimodal connectivity and economic development with India during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Dhaka visit was done without a proper assessment by Bangladesh. They say New...

Immigration or death trap?

Immigration is as old as the civilization itself. History tells us that the French, Dutch, Arabs and the British migrated to this part of the world at different times, looted our resources and made us subservient. Of them, the British...

A note of caution for FY16

This fiscal year is ending. There will be a lot of discussions on the progress made in this fiscal year. Economic commentators, politicians and journalists will debate on what we achieved and what we could not achieve in FY15. At...

Stocks end lower for 6th day

Stocks extended their losing streak for the sixth consecutive sessions on Thursday with turnover dipping further as investors stuck to cautious stance. The market opened with a negative note which sustained throughout the session amid modest seesaw. DSEX, the prime...

DSE, CSE down opening

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed downward trend in early hour of trading on Thursday, the last session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of...

Beximco urges BB to stagger another large loan repayment

Now Sonali Bank Limited, the largest of state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs), has passed on a proposal of Beximco Group to the central bank for restructuring another chunk of large loan worth Tk 10.75 billion. Beximco, one of the top business...

1996 share market scam cases transferred to Special Tribunal

The long pending 1996 share market scam cases are now ready at the recently formed capital market Special Tribunal for their speedy disposal, sources said. The much-talked about 15 criminal cases were filed against dozens of persons of 15 listed...

Move to offload more SoEs\\\' shares hits snag

The government's move to offload shares of more state-owned enterprises (SoEs) has hardly made any progress, mainly due to procedural complexities and dillydallying of the authorities concerned despite repeated reminders from the top levels, officials said. "We are reminding the...

Import doubles as demand for smartphones soars

The demand for smartphones has soared in the local market propelled by low-cost handsets and the enhanced 3G network coverage, industry people said. More than 8.0 million  smartphones  were shipped into Bangladesh in the first eleven months of the outgoing...

Rise of the tigers

Cricket is the only thing that can bring the whole population together in Bangladesh. No one gets more cheers from the crowd than a Bangladeshi bowler bowling the first ball. This cricket crazy nation was gifted with 10 consecutive home...

VAT on education

The government has proposed to impose 10 per cent VAT on education in private universities and engineering and medical colleges. If, for example, a student pays a total of Tk.700,000 to obtain a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from...

Whither food security?

According to the Food and Agriculture Organi-sation (FAO), "Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets the dietary needs and food preferences for an active and...

What would have Rosa Parks said?

When I saw the picture of the swearing-in of Loretta Lynch as the Attorney General of the United States of America on the front page of a few American dailies on June 15, Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks came to...