Green marketing— global initiative

One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of attention in the press is marketing. Terms like 'Green Marketing' and 'Environmental Marketing' appear frequently in the media. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about...

Modi eyes first labour overhaul in decades to create jobs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in motion the first major revamp in decades of the archaic labour laws, part of a plan to revive the flagging economy, boost manufacturing and create millions of jobs. Successive governments have agreed labour...

BOJ upbeat on regional economies, reassures easy policy to stay

The Bank of Japan kept its upbeat assessment for all of the country's nine regions, saying a moderate recovery was taking hold and bolstering views the economy is on track to meet the central bank's price target without more monetary...

Faulty DPP, lengthy procurement delay project implementation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has found that lengthy process of approval of development project proposal (DPP), its low quality and prolonged procurement procedure are delaying implementation of projects in Bangladesh, sources said. To reduce the procedural delays in project...

Significant increase in BIWTC\\\'s income from ferry services

The income of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) from the ferry services increased significantly after installation of weighbridge scales at the ferry ghats last year, data showed. The BIWTC installed four weighbridge scales on January 3 and December 27...

Azerbaijan looks to boost trade ties with B\\\'desh

Azerbaijan, a central Asian country, has showed keen interest to promote and strengthen economic and trade relations with Bangladesh by signing a Trade and Economic Co-operation (TEC) accord, officials have said. Azerbaijan already sent a draft of the agreement on...

BD mulling FTA accord with Turkey

A high-powered Bangladesh delegation will fly to Turkey next month for negotiation over signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the latter for mutual benefits, a high trade official said. With this end in view, the Ministry of Commerce...

Stocks pass dull week as shaky investors stay on sidelines

After walking on the positive path for two weeks in a row, the stock market witnessed major correction last week that ended Thursday as investors' confidence were shaky. The week featured all five trading sessions as usual and the market...

Impact of mass media on our culture

Since the 1950s, cinema, radio and TV had begun to be the most popular or the only source of information and entertainment for a large percentage of the population in the West. At one stage, these media outlets started to...

Bangladesh and the changing regional scenario

Noticeable changes are occurring in today's world. Asia is also changing, and its potential is being closely monitored by the Western giants. According to many, the US dominance in every sphere of the present unipolar world is being replaced by...

Bringing CSR under a policy framework

Contribution of businesses to good causes in society has taken various forms at different times.  Since time immemorial, renowned business houses had been extending their cooperation to their respective communities in this sub-continent. With the expansion of market, the business...

An innovative idea

We all know innovative ideas can bring about a big change. One of the innovative ideas is the digital admission process, first implemented by the Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST) in 2009. The system has been running successfully...

The most attractive World Cup loses some of its shine

This year's World Cup football has been the most attractive and entertaining ever. Not so much because people want to see goals which have been scored aplenty but also because the gap between the teams has narrowed down and many...

341 stranded cars to be released from ports soon

The government is going to release soon 341 cars remaining stuck up for many years at the Chittagong and Mongla seaports because of an age bar, sources have said. A recent meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister's principal secretary, decided...

Why reject TIB report on private universities?

Unsurprisingly, the Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) has come under scathing criticism from the education minister, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the representatives of the 79 private universities of the country. The anti-graft body's fault is that it came up...

Preparing students for puberty

"I don't exactly remember who told me or how old I was when I found out about menstruation. However I do remember my feelings about this new-found knowledge. I thought it was disgusting and I still think it's disgusting. The...

Strong IPR key to competitiveness

The growing importance of international trade has made Intellectual Property Rights or IPR a subject of global concern. In this era of globalisation and rapid expansion of the world economy, intellectual property and IPR have become crucial to economic, social,...

BDT appreciated slightly against dollar

Bangladesh Taka (BDT) appreciated slightly against the US dollar in the last couple of days mainly due to higher flow of inward remittance ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 77.60 in the inter-bank foreign...

Grameen Bank has no associate organisations, BB told

The Grameen Bank (GB) has said it has not established any associate organisations and the companies operating in the country under the name 'Grameen' are independent and separate entities. "Neither GB has set up any such associate organisation(s) nor it...

Online Eid shopping gaining popularity in country

Online Eid shopping is getting popular day by day in the country thanks to the increasing online accessibility of people and urban busy lifestyle. Almost all leading local brands and local outlets of international brands of clothing, shoes, jewelry and...

Local brands making inroad into motorbike market

Locally made motorcycles are getting popular as they are competing with the well-known foreign automobile brands, sources said. Currently two Bangladeshi companies are manufacturing motorcycles and some are in the pipeline with the local companies' market share scaling up by...

Stocks extend losing for eighth day

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) extended losing streak for the eighth consecutive session on Thursday with sluggish trading activities as investors remained reluctant to take fresh exposure in the market. The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSEX) went down...

Stocks see mixed trend at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) saw positive trend while the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw downward trend in early hours of trading on Thursday amid see-saw, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE,...

NBR clarifies tax rates on transfer of lands

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a clarification Wednesday on tax rates on transfer of personal and other lands and specifying those for some areas after these led to widespread confusion over the measure. The newly-introduced tax rules on...

Expressway, MRT curve onto collision course

A fresh conflict has developed over the routing of the much-hyped metro rail and the Dhaka elevated expressway (DEE) which may further decelerate the process of implementation of the two major traffic congestion-remedial projects in the capital. Officials and experts...

DSE to raise concern to BSEC

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) board will raise its concern to the securities regulator over the move of some companies, which are in the pipeline to go public with 'fabricated' financial disclosures and various 'loopholes', officials said. The decision was...

The mystique of Brazil football shattered

Mike Tunison tweeted: "STOP! STOP! THEY'RE ALREADY DEAD!" Yes, Brazil has died, shattering the mystique of Brazil football perhaps for good and dragging in the wake many millions of Brazil fans around the world to find their dreams left in...

How to solve the problem of price difference

The difference between producers' price and retail price of commodities, especially agricultural commodities, in our country is increasing day by day. There is no sign of mitigation of this problem. Recently we dealt with the price of watermelon in  an...

The state of foreign investment

There is good news on the foreign investment front, something that eludes us most of the time. In a highly competitive field like this Bangladesh often fails to make the mark. Lack of infrastructures, administrative complexities and political instability stand...

Middle East in flames again over murder of teenagers

The Middle East is again in flames over the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager. Israeli air attacks killed seven Palestinians and the Hamas threatened "adequate retaliation". The killing of the militants by Israeli air attack is the worst...