On freedom of expression

Freedom of expression is an inseparable element of a democratic society. Whether a society is democratic or not can be defined by the factor of freedom of expression.  Freedom of expression has a special status as a human right because...

Falling economic indicators

The continuing blockade and hartal have hampered execution of economic programmes. These have resulted in negative economic indicators in most cases. Revenue collection is experiencing a shortfall. Growth in remittances has slowed. Export earnings have shown a declining trend. Imports...

Who is a \\\'Muslim terrorist\\\'?

Speaking to the representatives from 60 nations attending a three-day event on extremism, US President Barack Obama recently said those heading groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda were not religious leaders but terrorists. He added that the US is "not...

Strengthening monetary framework

With political turmoil strangling Bangladesh, economic activity is once again going downhill. The government is already speculating that the budget deficit may rise to around 7.0 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) this fiscal year - well beyond the...

NBR complains about duty dodging on imports at ports

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has written to the ministry of shipping (MoS) about duty dodging on imports at ports and sought joint action against such racketeering to raise revenues, officials said. "Revenue collection will be increased and transparent...

4 state-owned gas cos stash tax money worth billions into own coffers

Four state-owned gas companies owe Tk. 223.58 billion to the government in unpaid value added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD) and cumulative interest thereof. The companies concerned collected tax and duty from their respective subscribers but defaulted on paying...

Trans-border transit modalities left cloaked in confusions

The execution process of trans-border transit trade with neighbouring countries seems cloaked in confusions as the government has yet to assign any specific lead ministry to deal with the issues, officials said. A provision on 'transit trade through Bangladesh' is...

Growth of BD\\\'s software export slow due to inadequate forward linkage

Inadequate forward linkage is causing slow growth of Bangladesh's potential software export to the vast international market, sources said. With the growing need for software in the international market, export from Bangladesh was projected at US$ 1.0 billion by this...

Handloom weavers struggling to survive

The handloom industry, which is a major source of earning for many rural people, is passing through hard times. Low wage coupled with lack of capital from the government, the handloom weavers are today struggling for survival. They are now...

Bribery from women\\\'s perspective

So long the issue of bribery involving women was hardly focused. A Transparency International study carried on women's compulsion for parting with bribe money in two unions, the lowest tier of local government, has for the first time made surprising...

Promises for private EPZ unfulfilled

Life has never been easy for the sponsor-the Seoul-based Youngone Corporation- of the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ), since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 1995 to establish the first private EPZ in Bangladesh. The government allotted...

Sluggish investment dampens job market

Over the last two financial years, investment declined to 21.4 per cent from 22.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Even significant reduction in interest rates has failed to induce private investment. The country is now witnessing almost...

Gandhi mocked and glorified

Sometime in the 1930s, Winston Churchill, the famous British politician who later became the prime minister of the United Kingdom, described Mahatma Gandhi as "a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, posing as a half-naked fakir of a type well known in...

Govt hospitals unable to buy drugs from private parties

The government hospitals are unable to purchase the required modern drugs from the private parties as 70 per cent of their allocated money is spent for a limited number of essential medicines from the state-owned Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL)....

Taxmen lose hope of getting near revenue target for uncertainty

Taxmen are in doubt about getting the targeted revenue from internal sources in the last quarter (Q4) of the current financial year, as the tax collection has already missed the mark.   A poor state of businesses, hit by the prolonged...

Eighty years of Ahsania Mission

Ahsania Mission was founded by Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah (1873-1965), an eminent educationist, reformer and Sufi, on March 15, 1935 in his own village Nalta under the district of Satkhira. One of the oldest and pioneering socio-spiritual and service-oriented    non-government development...

Empowering women entrepreneurs economically

For some time now, Banks and financial institutions of Bangladesh have been providing financial support to women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SME). The amount of loans given last year was higher than that of a year before. However,...

Activating NTM desks in S Asia for more trade

The problems of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and non-tariff measures (NTMs) in trading within South Asia are not new. Thus the effort to address the problems needs to be a continuous process as a part of smooth trade facilitation across the...

Govt outlines plans to lower trade gap with Nepal

The government has taken a set of initiatives to turn the trade gap between Bangladesh and Nepal in favour of the country from the prevailing negative territory, officials said. The initiatives include persuading the government of Nepal to exclude Bangladeshi...

Govt to count 45pc cost overrun for delayed start of PMB construction

The cost of building the Padma multipurpose bridge is going to shoot up by nearly 45 per cent from the estimated amount of Tk 205 billion mainly for forced delays in start of the project works. As long as over...

Parliamentary body seeks info from NBR

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been asked to submit to a parliamentary panel a report on Bangladeshi citizens' wealth stashed abroad as part of a current move to prevent money laundering and terror financing. Officials said the parliamentary...

Uneven disbursement of bank loans adds to regional disparity

Nearly 90 per cent of the loans and advances of scheduled banks are concentrated in Dhaka and Chittagong divisions, showing an unequal distribution of resources of banks. Around 70 per cent loans and advances of scheduled banks were invested in...

Fresh BINs mandatory

The country's businesses will have to obtain fresh Business Identification Numbers (BINs) from January, 2016 as a part of process of implementation of new Value Added Tax (VAT) and Supplementary Duty (SD) Act-2012. The BINs would be provided to the...

Spectrum auction as per schedule despite operators\\\' reluctance

The telecom regulator is determined to arrange the auction for spectrum, an expensive airwave frequency, as per schedule, though the major mobile operators are reluctant to participate in the bidding. "We are firm to arrange the slated spectrum auction on...

Draft Social Security Strategy to be finalised this month

The government is set to finalise the draft of National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) this month by incorporating some new provisions including giving pension to the citizens above 60 years and strengthening the ongoing social safety net programme (SSNP).   The...

\\\'Green energy\\\' gets popularity among companies

'Green energy' is becoming popular among the country's manufacturers due to demand of global business partners, eco-friendliness and cost-efficiency. The business insiders said demand for green products has been on the rise from the global partners resulting in many industries...

Bearish spell continues as political unrest prolongs

The bearish spell continued in the stock market for the fourth week that ended Thursday as investors were in selling binge amid the deepening political turmoil in the country. "The prolonged political strife kept the investors worried and they went...

China makes \\\'peaceful rise\\\'

          China's rise can be seen as a quintessentially political process. Through the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has sought to shore up its legitimacy after the Cultural Revolution irreversibly changed the nation and caused three crises of ideological belief,...

Tale of a simple girl with lofty dreams

This is my story. It is the story of a simple girl with lofty dreams. A girl who was not born under any lucky star or with silver-spoon in her mouth. But one thing I was certainly born with, that...

Misplaced priority makes a poor commentary

So, the 20-party alliance -better say the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - relaxed its hartal for 12 hours on Tuesday. The reason why it granted the nation this gracious reprieve is to celebrate the victory of the Bangladesh cricket team...