Govt takes novel initiative to increase use of solar power

The government has decided to introduce feed-in-tariff system for popularising the use of renewable energy in the urban area, officials said. Under the system, individuals can set up solar power generating devices of any capacity on their premises, and use...

Increased facilities fail to end plight of Indian visa-seekers

The woes of Indian visa-seekers have not been reduced even after increased facilities and slots for visa due to growing number of aspirants for visits to the neighbouring country for business, medical, tourists and many other reasons. The crowd in...

Need for creating awareness against use of asbestos

Asbestos is a name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals contained within rocks. Though it is largely produced in Russia, it is found in many countries. Since asbestos does not burn, it is used as a protection against...

Abduction without limit

People are now worried about frequent abductions and murders. Recovery of dead bodies after abduction continues. Abduction is spreading because the previous cases were not properly investigated and tried. The concerned families have alleged that law-enforcement agencies are involved in...

Coordinated regulatory regime a sine qua non

The first priority of the chairman of the demutualised stock exchange is to help bring transparency in capital market, help creating an enabling environment to restore and strengthen the confidence of investors at large and small and medium investors in...

Govt to introduce air cargo service

The government is finally set to launch an air cargo service with a view to facilitating export and import trade of the country, the official source have said. "The government is contemplating introduction of a low-cost air cargo service for...

Superstores folding operations on losses

Burdened by losses and uneven competition, as many as 20 superstores have folded their operations in recent years and many others may follow suit people familiar with the situation say. While demand from urbanites and upper and middle-class shoppers has...

Banks’ classified loans on way back to old state

The amount of classified loans in the country's banking system increased significantly in the first quarter (Q1) of 2014 due mainly to the lack of proper monitoring and supervision of rescheduled loans. The volume of default loans increased by 18.70...

Curbing illegal money transfers

Money laundering refers to illegal transfer of money from one place to another. It also indicates hiding of the source of money. Money laundering is a transnational organised crime. On the other hand, terrorist financing is an issue of high...

Thai crisis worsens as Ingluck\\\'s supporters counter opposition

The crisis in Thailand triggered by the dismissal of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine other ministers by a court seems to be deepening further as the supporters of the axed prime minister have come out with programmes to counter ...

EC set to meet in Dhaka to review progress in Compact programme

The European Commission (EC) will soon take stock of the progress in the Sustainability Compact programme it is running in Bangladesh to see what the country could achieve in last one year regarding improvement of working conditions in the apparel...

Stocks close flat amid volatile trading

Stocks closed flat into the red on Monday with volatile trading throughout the session as investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ approach amid cautious trading. After previous session’s sharp decline, the market remained in positive and negative territory several times during the day’s...

DSE, CSE open red amid volatility

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed downward trend amid modest see-saw in early hours of trading on Monday, the second trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down...

Environment as important as genes in autism, study finds

Environmental factors are more important than previously thought in leading to autism, as big a factor as genes, according to the largest analysis to date to look at how the brain disorder runs in families. Sven Sandin, who worked on...

BB cautions SoCBs on classified loans

The central bank has asked four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) for taking effective measures so that rescheduled loans do not turn into classified ones, officials said Sunday. The instruction came at a meeting held at the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to...

HC starts hearing on long-pending writs

A High Court (HC) larger bench started hearing on about 100 long-pending writ petitions that challenged minimum 0.5 per cent income tax on the companies' annual 'gross receipts' irrespective of whether they made loss or profit, sources said. "Taking the...

Nat’l budget on June 5

The national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 is set to be placed before parliament on June 5 next. Finance Ministry officials Sunday confirmed the budget announcement date. The size of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, as indicated...

MoC set to complete 29 RHD projects this year

The ministry of communication (MoC) is hopeful of completing 29 projects out of over 100 under its Road Division in the current fiscal year. Officials said the ministry has also set a target to complete 55 more projects in the...

How rational is relating tax to dividend payment?

The term 'dividend' in finance refers to distribution of profits by a company among its shareholders. The company may choose to pay cash to its shareholders out of profit earned by it during a year or profit previously earned but...

Double standard impedes education

Popular writer and distinguished teacher Jafar Iqbal has rightly made his feeling known about the general apathy towards the leakage of question papers. He is disappointed that the issue has not received due attention even from the media. As a...

Economics of slums

Slums are eyesores to every one except those who live there. In spite of being disliked by many they have become an integral part of urbanisation almost in all countries. They are a mirror image of societies where poverty is...

DSEX dips below 4,500-mark

Stocks witnessed sharp decline on Sunday with key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dipped below 4,500 points mark after 6 weeks as investors went for selling spree. The market started with a negative trend and the downturn continued...

Ukraine : Will \\\'referendum\\\' by pro-Russians take place?

 A last-ditch effort is in progress among the parties who have great stakes in the Ukraine crisis. The pro-Russian separatists are hell-bent in carrying forward the 'referendum' in several areas in eastern Ukraine for 'independence' from the 'Kiev' authority. The...

55,000 cars, jeeps with tinted glasses allowed to ply roads

Nearly 55,000 imported private cars and jeeps, having built-in black or tinted glasses from their manufacturing plants abroad, have been allowed to ply on roads although the Home Ministry had earlier ordered its removal to detect kidnappers and hostages. The...

Govt to press ahead with loss-making project

The much-talked-about water bus service around the city has now fallen flat as both its public and private operators do not find it financially viable. The operators said they never got the expected number of passengers enjoying the service over...

Motorcyclists hardly obey traffic rules

It is indeed alarming that more than one million motorcycles ply throughout the country without BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority) registration. Our correspondent Badrul Ahsan in an exclusive report published in The Financial Express on May 5 last quoted BRTA...

Philips to set up 30 sleep labs in Bangladesh

Philips looks to make a significant amount of in vestment in the field of country's healthcare solution to sleep disorder, which causes poor performance at the workplaces and even different serious diseases. Under the plan, the company will set up...

Impossible to turn eyes away from you, oh mom!

Today, May 11, is Mother's Day. For many of us, who have lost their mothers, Mother's Day is a painful reminder. Over and over, it's a screaming reminder of loss. I was looking for ways on this 'day of mother'...

Raising exports to spur economic growth

Bangladesh's economy has achieved an average growth of 6.0 per cent over the last five years primarily due to the healthy inflow of remittance and rising exports. Both the exports and the remittance flow from expatriate Bangladeshis have doubled over...

The Cs of good and bad loans

One well-known principle for evaluation of a credit proposal is five 'C's of credit--character, capacity, conditions, capital, and collateral. This article recapitulates those five 'C's and also tries to introduce a new dimension to the evaluation process by introducing what...