Appalling state of City Corporations

It is appalling to see that despite the bifurcation of the Dhaka City Corporation, meant to provide better services to the urbanites, there is no sign of any improvement in their basic services. Take the instance of garbage for example....

Heart melts before ailing humanity

The eighth version of Mirakkel, a funny reality show on Zee Bangla, went on air on August 04 last. On its second day, the show produced a man aged 69 in typical Bangalee Babu attire. The jokes he cracked as...

All about lifts that need a facelift

Nowadays multistoried and high-rise buildings are being constructed in the big cities; driven by the extreme necessity to accommodate more people through minimizing horizontal expansions as well as utilizing space-efficient strategy. It is envisaged that this trend would be spread...

Alpha-Tocopherol and Tocotrienols from red palm oil can prevent cancer, CVD

Adulterated food has become a burning issue for the consumers of Bangladesh. Edible oil is one of the important items that mass people use for cooking their daily consumption. Some unscrupulous traders in our country are blending low quality oils...

Checking erosion of values and corruption

Image of an organisation is very important for  success of its activities. In the battlefield, a soldier moves towards the enemy risking his life without hesitation on command of his commander because of the latter's image of a war-field leader...

Charting road to sporting glory

A sports fete like the Commonwealth Games 2014 held at the largest Scottish city Glasgow failed to draw the attention of the media here it deserved. Why? One of the reasons understandable is that the games participated by former colonies...

NBR directive to intensify collection of tax at source

The revenue board has instructed taxmen across the country to intensify focus on collection of tax at source, plug holes of revenue leakage and find out areas vulnerable to concealment. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) gave the directives to...

BBA to seek legal advice before hiring Sinohydro

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) is finally going to seek legal advice to avert any possible conflict in awarding river training work of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project to Chinese company Sinohydro. The BBA's latest move came following the company's...

India bets on Modi touch to reform infrastructure PPP drive

India's new government is betting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replicate his relative success with regional infrastructure projects to ensure fewer public-private partnerships (PPP) stall for want of land. The government wants private companies to contribute half of a...

Palestine seeks ICC war crimes case against Israel

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said there was "clear evidence" of war crimes by Israel during its offensive in Gaza as he met International Criminal Court prosecutors to push for an investigation. Malki visited The Hague shortly after Israel and...

Afghan unity talks at early impasse

The two men vying to become Afghanistan's next leader may have shaken hands on a deal to resolve a bitterly disputed election, but they are miles apart on a critical component of their gentleman's agreement - forming a united government....

Move to make EPB more functional

The government has initiated a move to incorporate some fresh provisions in the draft Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Act, 2014 aiming to make the Bureau more functional and effective for further rejuvenating the country's overseas trade. Regular holding of board...

Corporate tax structure and investment

Corporate tax came into particular focus this year in the course of discussions on the national budget for FY2014-15. A major conclusion of these discussions was that corporate taxes in Bangladesh were very high, misaligned with other taxes and the...

Road from Bali: Moving towards plurilateral reform?

The signing of the trade deal at Bali, Indonesia last year was hailed as a watershed event causing euphoria among the member countries. It was the first time that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) reached an agreement on trade reforms...

Impact of climate change hits Jessore hatchling trade severely

JHENIDAH, Aug 7: Belated start of production, increase in per unit electricity bill coupled with a hike in production cost has hit hard fish hatcheries in Jessore, compelling many owners to quit the business. Alhaj Firoj Khan, Firoj Khan, President...

Stocks end flat amid choppy trading

Stocks ended flat in the green Thursday amid choppy trading as mid-session sale pressure wiped out early gains. The market started with an upbeat note, but could not sustain amid mid-session sale pressure. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka...

DSE, CSE up at opening

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed upward trend in the first few minutes of the session Thursday, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the...

Rethink on NBR step likely

The government is likely to rethink the budgetary measure that provides for imposition of 25 per cent tax on annual incomes of state-run regulatory entities from the current fiscal year, as the step stirred up discontent. Finance Minister AMA Muhith...

CPA unlikely to develop KCT demolishing existing GCB now

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is unlikely to develop the Karnaphuli Container Terminal (KCT) by demolishing the existing General Cargo Berths (GCB) right now to keep the country's prime seaport operational, officials have said. The demolition of the existing GCB...

Govt rejects UGC proposal seeking recreation leave for public varsity teachers, staff

The government has finally turned down a proposal of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for allowing 'rest and recreation leave' facilities to the country's public university teachers and staffs, officials said. Although the universities' regulator had earlier applied twice seeking...

SME clusters for spurring growth

Michael Porter, father of the concept of 'industrial cluster', defined cluster as a 'geographic concentration of interconnected businesses and associated institutions in a particular field'. In this definition, we are getting three criteria of an industrial cluster. These are (a)...

On rural sanitary latrines

Health is wealth - so goes the adage. But wealth is health, in the context of Bangladesh. Only those with money can afford to get good treatment either at home or abroad; those without it are destined to die. Fortunately,...

DSE turnover crosses Tk 6.50 billion

Stocks edged marginally higher Wednesday with turnover crossing Tk 6.50 billion after three and a half months as favourable prices spurred investors’ participation. “Buying spree was spurred by banks’ reduced deposit interest rate and low prices of stocks,” said an...

DSE, CSE gain

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw upward trend in early hours of trading on Wednesday, the 4th trading session of the week. DSEX, the prime index...

Of financial crimes and toothless tigers

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India on August 02 night arrested the chief executive officer (CEO) of a state-run bank from southern city of Bengalore along with 11 others, allegedly, for taking bribes in exchange for loan extensions...

Govt bank borrowing surges in recent weeks

The government's net borrowing from banking system surged in the recent weeks due mainly to release of Padma Bridge construction funds and disbursement of export subsidies, officials said. Its net borrowing from banking system shot up to Tk 70.52 billion...

A review of the Monetary Policy Statement

Like every half-a-year, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has recently announced the monetary policy statement (MPS) for the first half of the FY 2014-15 (July-December 2014). It has mainly focused on restraining inflation. Current monetary stance has targeted the monetary growth path...

Golden voices of a golden era

The 34th death anniversary of Mohammad Rafi, one of the all time great singers of the sub-continent, was observed in a sombre mood on July 31. Then on August 4, came the 85th birth anniversary of another classic singer Kishore...

Revenue earning from DSE dips 46 per cent

The government revenue earnings from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell 46 per cent month-on-month in July amid reduced trading hours and weak volumes owing to the occasion of Ramadan. The government bagged tax worth Tk 65.20 million in July...

JICA funds likely for widening, renovating 200 bridges

Japan has hinted at financing a bridge improvement project to widen and renovate nearly 200 bridges in the country's western zone. The fund will help the government fine-tune those with its future plan of turning four-lane national highways, officials said....