Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah and the University of Dhaka

Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah (1873-1965) was the pride of the Muslims in Bengal and one of the most enlightened personalities of his time as a renowned academician and social reformer, a reputed philanthropist, a legendary literary figure and Sufi thinker. He...

Time to establish a commodity exchange

Prices are determined by the market forces-demand and supply. It is said in jest that a parrot can be turned into an economist by teaching it just two words-demand and supply. This saying contains a great deal of truth. If...

Bumper potato harvest a blessing

Recently an article in the FE (05 Feb 2014) about bumper potato harvest in Bangladesh described the plight of the poor farmers due to the plentiful yield. The bumper harvest has pushed down the prices so low that the poor...

RMG: Delegation of authority for streamlining factory management

Workers think that job is a favour from their owners. Lack of nutritious food, sufficient rest, hygienic residence, etc. makes the workers socially, physically and mentally weak. Working extra time and seven days a week create a distance between them...

Bangladesh at a crossroads

The January 05 elections are being described by the ruling Awami League (AL) like business as usual. They are stating that the elections have been held legally and it is bad luck for the opposition that they did not join...

BADC asks farmers to store potatoes at their homes

Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) has directed the farmers to store their harvested potatoes at their own homes for several weeks to avert the current price fall. As per estimate of the BADC, production cost of per kilogramme (kg) potato...

Actions against people creating essentials\\\' crisis

The government has decided to take tough actions against people involved in creating artificial crisis of key essential items in domestic market, officials said. The decision came following a meting at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) recently. In the meeting,...

DSEX dips below 4,800-point mark

Stocks ended lower for the second running session Monday with turnover dropped further as investors continued to book profit amid cautious trading. The market opened with a positive note, but could not sustain. The prime index of the Dhaka Stock...

Stocks see positive trend at opening

The prices of most of the stocks on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hours of trading Monday amid minor volatility. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE went up by 21.78...

US finds no tangible progress in executing its Action Plan

Bangladesh is yet to make any tangible progress in several key areas as far as the implementation of the US Action Plan, linked to the restoration of the GSP is concerned, the US embassy in Dhaka said in a note...

H1 industrial credit flow up by 12.26pc

Overall industrial credit disbursement rose by 12.26 per cent in the first-half (H1) of the current fiscal year despite political uncertainty and inadequate supply of gas and power. The industrial loans disbursed rose to Tk 803.56 billion in the first...

Food grains import, production and market price: A different view

The Financial Express published on January 31, 2014 an article titled Food grains import: Puzzling at first sight. The writer of the article argued that import of food grains might cause decline in the production of food grains such as ...

Clinging to life against overwhelming odds

To be alone and adrift on a 24ft fibre-glass boat with an out-of-order engine in the Pacific ocean for about 13 months, by all accounts, is a superhuman feat. Jose Salvador Alvarenga, a man originally from El Salvador, who had...

Dealing with the problem of plenty

Farmers in Bangladesh are known to be a resilient lot who have sound informal knowledge of what many tend to describe as 'agro economics'. Then why do they very often encounter problems over marketing of their produce?  What troubles them...

Human resources department can\\\'t work properly

In many cases, owners recruit their relatives in important positions. They are less qualified than the professionals. Owners rely on their relative-employees' information to gather secrets about happenings in the organisation. Those relatives become shadow owners of the organisation. Genuine...

Sharp rise in foreign traders\\\' arrival in recent weeks

The number of inbound foreign businessmen has marked a sharp increase in recent weeks thanks to the country's current political scenario, which has improved after the 10th parliamentary election. With the stability of political situation the global business partners are...

Legal steps against people hindering TU in RMG units

The government will take legal actions against people hindering trade union (TU) activities in the country's ready-made garment (RMG) factories. The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has asked the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) to identify the people and take...

Stocks, turnover down on bourses

Stocks ended marginally lower Sunday with declining turnover value as investors moved cautiously amid profit booking tendency. The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) --- DSEX --- ended at 4,822.71 points, shedding 22.37 points or 0.46 per cent...

DSE, CSE open with positive trend

The prices of most of the stocks on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading Sunday, the opening day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE...

What is the likely scenario in Thailand after elections?

The elections in Thailand are now over, but hardly anyone thinks that the polls would help resolve the debilitating political crisis in the country. The voting on February 02 went off rather peacefully in that country barring some areas and...

MoU likely with Ukraine to import essentials

The government is likely to initiate a move to enhance imports of some key commodities that will be locally marketed through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). The authorities have expressed the hope that such import would help keep the...

Demolishing risky buildings

The Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has, of late, embarked upon a plan to demolish dilapidated buildings declared unsafe for use long ago. The CCC drive against worn-out structures listed as risky by the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) began from January...

Tk 20.54b WB loan for country\\\'s tertiary edn

The government is going to sign an agreement with the World Bank (WB) worth Tk 20.54 billion tomorrow (Monday) to support the country's tertiary education. "Negotiation between the government and the global bank has concluded", Prof AK Azad Chowdhury, chairman...

BRTA claims 53pc fall in road accidents, experts disagree

The number of road accidents and casualties decreased in the country during the last six years with the highest 28 per cent drop last year, according to the police headquarters. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) claimed 53 per cent...

Lifting potato growers out of their plight

The country this season has witnessed a bumper production of potatoes in almost all the potato-growing districts. But the growers have fallen into a state of despondency. Though potato has not yet been harvested fully, the growers have become disappointed...

Bangladesh and the Bali Package

At the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, from December 3 to 7 20I3, ministers adopted the "Bali Package", a series of decisions aimed at streamlining trade. The package provides for, among others, more options for food security...

HRD plays limited role in RMG sector

Besides the production and personnel issues, the production manager (PM) remained involved in many pre-and-post production activities. The purchase of machinery and spare parts, maintenance of the equipment, excess materials, especially fabrics, etc. were attractive areas of interest of the...

Judicious use of foreign exchange reserve

The rise of foreign exchange reserve to a record level of $18 billion has spawned some questions on its likely impacts on the economy. I have come across an article written by Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy...

Microcredit regulator seeks DFID support for one more year

The microcredit regulator has sought one-year extension of the British Department for International Development (DFID)-funded project 'Promoting Financial Services through Poverty Reduction' (PROSPER). Under this programme, the DFID provided Tk 370 million to support the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) in...

DCCI begins training for budding entrepreneurs next month

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) will start training next month-part of its effort to create 2,000 new entrepreneurs, said the chief of the trade body. "We will start training for creating new 2000 entrepreneurs from March to help...