Educating teachers in Bangladesh: Current issues and future perspectives

Teacher education plays a very significance role in developing the total education system.  With the increase in sources of information and the rapid access to information teachers have to cope with the current world both for themselves and their students....

Encouraging criminality through condonation

A minibus turned turtle. And it did at a very busy spot of a busy road. Kawran Bazaar is the venue of this dramatic achievement by two competing drivers --just two members of a highly accomplished breed of men who,...

Correspondent banking: The challenges and opportunities

Payment settlement is the end result of any transaction. It is simple when the transaction is dealt with within the same jurisdiction. But if it happens beyond the jurisdiction, the necessity of correspondent banking comes to the fore. Correspondent banking...

Let\\\'s build skilled workforce to replace foreign workers

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith while presenting the 2015-16 budget on June 04, 2015 said many foreigners are employed in our local industrial establishments. A section of them is illegal. He sounded a note of warning and said the...

Smart use of smartphone

Smartphone was considered a luxury item which only a few could afford earlier but now it is a necessity. People view their smartphones as an extension of themselves, taking them everywhere they go?--?even the most unorthodox places?--?from shower to showbiz,...

$1.0b ITFC loan for BPC to import fuel

The government has taken a loan support worth $1.0 billion (100 crore) from the ITFC (International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation) in favour of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) for the current calendar year to import different fuel oils. The state...

Spl tribunal for share cases getting life

The judge courts have started transferring long-pending cases to the newly formed Special Tribunal for the capital market for speedy disposal of the litigations, sources said. "Till today (Thursday), around a dozen of such cases were transferred from the judge...

Dutch-Danish consortium to bankroll Paira port construction

Two European countries have formed a consortium for funding and building Paira deep-sea port in Patuakhali district, officials said.  The governments of the Netherlands and Denmark recently sent a copy of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) of the consortium to...

GPA-5: Blessing or a disaster?

Last year, a staggering total of 70,000 students got GPA-5, better known as A+, in the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations. This number is significantly higher than any of the previous years since the grading system for public exams was...

Planning for mango economy

Jaishtha, the second month on the Bangla calendar, is lovingly called Madhu mas (the month of honey). This is not for nothing. Although it is high summer time, the month's ferocious sultry heat is largely compensated by the many varieties...

Unrelenting debate on growth rate

Growth rate is defined as a measure of economic development in a certain fiscal year in percentage terms. This measure is not adjusted for inflation. It is expressed in nominal terms. In practice, it is a measure of the rate...

Capital flight — myths versus realities

Lately, nearly everyone from all shades of opinion is eager to throw in his or her two cents on the highly topical subject of capital flight from Bangladesh. However, most of their thoughts and ideas are far remote from the...

DSE, CSE open positive

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw upward trend in early hour of trading on Thursday, maintaining the previous session’s positive trend. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 24.47 points or 0.54...

Referral hospitals will have to offer 5.0pc beds to poor

Private hospitals enjoying the duty-free benefits on import of medical equipment under 'referral hospital facility' will have to offer at least 5.0 per cent seat, bed or other facilities free-of-cost to the poor patients. The customs wing of the National...

Telcos\\\' mixed reactions over regulator\\\'s move

The telecom regulator's move to introduce mandatory tower sharing mechanism has sparked mixed reactions among the country's mobile phone companies. Bangladesh Telecomm-unication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has recently approved the guidelines for tower sharing licences, paving the way for a third...

Food supplements set to come under regulatory framework

All types of food supplements, made in medicinal form, are set to come under the regulatory framework of the drug administration, a high official of DGDA said. The move come as the authorities have found that many unregistered items have...

The risks Dhaka city runs

It is important to note that in 2011 the mega earthquake that hit the east coast of Japan reactivated dormant faults near Fukushima's nuclear reactor, which caused massive economic and environmental damage to that country. In Oklahoma of the USA...

A dream to create the future

'Sustainability reporting' is a key tool to help an organisation in setting goals, measuring progress and managing sustainability. Reporting on the organisation's sustainability performance will give internal and external stakeholders a clear idea of its impact and can increase  efficiency...

Welcoming FDI in insurance sector

The initiatives so far taken by the government over the decades to boost the non-responsive life insurance sector of Bangladesh have not been enough to drive any radical change, other than a few steps taken in the last four years...

Needed: A stimulus to move to higher growth trajectory

A budget is not a simple number sheet with figures of income and expenditure of government. It is the only economic tool to translate the political viewpoints of a government into economic actions. The political ideology of a government is...

Stocks return to green

Stocks turned around on Wednesday, snapping two sessions’ steep correction, as investors went for buying spree amid optimism. The market opened higher in the morning which sustained till closure of the market amid marginal volatility. At the end of the...

Twin bourse keeps rising

The country’s twin bourse – Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) – kept its upward movement after two hours of trading on Wednesday, after two sessions of correction. After the first two hours of trading, DSEX, the...

DSE, CSE up at opening

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw upward trend in early hour of trading on Wednesday, after witnessing heavy volatility in the previous session. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 33.15 points or...

Undesirable route

Power consumers are largely relieved of load-shedding in the hot summer days this year. The power situation that has improved steadily over the last five years was simply unbearable until the fiscal year (FY), 2009-10. But the improvement in power...

July-Apr trade gap rises 54pc

The country's overall trade deficit widened by more than 54 per cent in the first ten months of the current fiscal (FY), 2014-15, due to higher import payments and lower export receipts, officials said. The deficit rose to $8.49 billion...

NBR expects to mobilise large additional revenue through strategic plan

Government's revenue authorities have now weaved a web of strategies to collect an additional Tk 111.64 billion in taxes during the upcoming financial year (2015-16). Tax officials are hopeful that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) would be able to...

Earthquake: What tectonic map reveals for Bangladesh

Although no large-scale earthquake has occurred in Bangladesh, the recent quakes in Nepal warn us that such a major disaster may hit the country any moment. The earthquakes in Nepal and their impacts on Bangladesh indicate that entire Bangladesh will...

The journey towards a middle-income country status

The United States is seriously considering granting Vietnam the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facilities that would be applicable to the RMG products of the latter together with other items of export. In 2013, the EU granted Pakistan the same...

Implementing Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations is scheduled to hold a summit in New York in September to approve the Sustainable Development    Goals (SDGs). An Open Working Group produced the final outcome document of the SDGs in July 2014 providing the draft 17...

Stocks end lower

Stocks ended lower for the second running sessions on Tuesday after witnessing extreme volatility despite a set of budgetary incentives announced for the capital market. The market moved between positive and negative territory throughout the session, keeping investors at bay...