Policy support for the private sector

Bangladesh desperately needs faster economic growth. The growth has to be led by the private sector. The smaller the role of the government, the better the prospect of efficient use of scarce resources for economiSc growth.Following this principle, Bangladesh has...

What will be in Apple's next laptops?

Soon after Intel's recent announcement of its new Centrino 2 mobile platform, rumours began to circulate about what would be inside Apple's next round of MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops (which are, themselves, rumoured to be refreshed in the near...

South Asian University to offer wider choice to students

THE posh South Asian University (SAU) is expected to start by 2010. It will be going in for a "cafeteria approach" (freedom of choice in opting subjects) where students can go straight for studying science and humanities courses.The regular university...

Shrimp price fall puts squeeze on earnings from frozen food export

The shrimp price fall in global markets put a squeeze on earnings from the country's frozen food exports, exporters concerned said Friday.Earnings in the sector, the country's second biggest foreign currency earner after garments, fell short of the target by...

Social safety net covers only 10pc of hardcore poor

Only 2.0 million out of 20 million ultra poor could be brought under the government's social safety net programme (SSNP) due to delayed disbursement of fund, lack of planning and weak surveillance and monitoring, a study report said."

The triple threat: Our food, water and climate challenges

FOOD prices rose 4.0 per cent in the United States in 2007, the highest rise since 1990. All over the world, food prices are on the rise and Bangladesh is no exception.There are many reasons contributing to this current crisis,...

AIDS victims must not feel the absence of love and care

"Enough is enough. No more hiding. We'll have to fight for our dignity and rights. And this how we can force the society to change its attitude towards us," says Perveen, an HIV carrier.Perveen (not her real name) got infected...

Bangladesh is not small, many big countries would pale into insignificance before it

The unfortunate typical instinct of many Bangladeshis these days is to despise the surroundings from which they draw their sustenance. There are over 180 countries in the world and conditions in many of them are far worse than Bangladesh such...

Drive for Iran sanctions seen long, hard

The United States and its Western allies are pushing for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran but negotiations will drag on for months as Russia and China work hard to delay and water down any new measures.US and...

SMEs' potential for job creation

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) are especially suited for Bangladesh for its vast workforce. A large portion of this workforce is unemployed or underemployed. Big industries, which are geared to achieve the economy of scale, involve high establishment and operating...

Strides science making recently

Many new technological innovations have been made during the last few decades. But though those inventions are of recent origin, they have already become essential elements of our day to day life. Now think of a day without the Internet,...

4 more regional passport offices will start operations this year

Four more Regional Passport Offices (RPO) will start operations this year as a part of the government's decision to extend passport-related services across the country.With the setting up of these four offices, the number of total RPOs will be 19....

South Asia faces food crisis despite India's high productivity

THOSE most affected by the current global food crisis are the poor, particularly in developing countries, international agencies and independent experts agree, and a large number of people for whom steep food prices spell disaster live in South Asia.Rice, an...

corporatewatch

18pc cash dividendThe board of directors of National Polymer has recommended 18 per cent cash dividend for the year that ended on June 30, '08. The annual general meeting (AGM) of the company will be held at the National Shooting...

Respecting every dollar the remitters send

With the remittance from the expatriate wage earners rising in amount, the government has decided to reward the highest remitters. The reward will provide them with special citizen's benefits.' Such persons will enjoy the status of commercially important persons (CIPs)...

Getting immersed in Olympic frenzies

The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture. China perhaps would not have agreed to host Olympics in any other year that would not bear the digit 8 as a qualifying index and I guess China...

Mischievous stories of gloom, doom about Bangladesh

It is known to all that Bangladesh gets unfair media coverage on some issues most of the time. For example, let us recall the banner headlines in a newspaper last week about the imminent earthquake to hit Bangladesh, or more...

Death of Solzhenitsyn: a dazzling flame extinguished

Not for a split of a second time freezes, not for a micro millimeter the Earth wobbles off its trajectory at the deaths of thousands of people everyday. But, at times news of death of a single luminary sends people...

Majority of old Dhaka, Gulshan businesses are without TINs

At least 100,562 businesses and professionals received new taxpayers identification number (TIN) during the ongoing drive across the country by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), officials said.They constitute 64.67 per cent of the 155,500 businesses and professionals surveyed across...

Heritage sites for cultural tourism

THE cultural heritage of Bangladesh and his archaeological wealth is yet to be projected and exploited to attract tourists. Cultural tourism can change Bangladesh's image to tourists, both domestic and foreign.Not many in Bangladesh are aware of its cultural heritage....

The concept of community policing

POLICE for its effective functioning anywhere in the world requires rapport with the ones whom they serve. Policemen are found working in social settings where they are not expected to try and do their professional work with a gruff or...

Three more landports will be handed over to pvt operators

Three more landports will be handed over to private operators under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement for a period 25 years by 2009 to help boost cross border trade, officials said.The landports that will be handed over to private operators in the...

news digest

buy armed drones: PentagonWASHINGTON, Aug 5: Germany and Italy areseeking to buy MQ-9 Reapers, new armed drones that the United States recently began flying in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Monday. In notifications to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation...

Exports hit $14.11b in FY'08 as boom continues in garments

Bangladesh exports posted a 15.87 percent growth in the outgoing fiscal year to a robust US$14.11 billions, spurred by impressive show of garments and an all-time high monthly shipments in June, officials said Tuesday.The country shipped goods worth around two...

Energy sector needs a master plan

Improved energy planning at the soonest is proving to be more and more an absolute imperative for Bangladesh in the backdrop of its growing energy needs to expand its economy, fast and mindless depletion of its main energy source, inadequate...

Realtors in a double whammy

Country's real estate developers, no doubt, are going through the most difficult time in their life.On one hand, abnormal hike in the prices of construction materials has severely hit their business growth and, on the other, an ordinance seeking to...

The summit of many hopes

The 15th Summit of the 8-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) has ended in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. What is the outcome of the Summit that brought together the leaders of a region where one-fourth of humanity...

Computerised reservations in 30 more rly stations by Oct

Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to introduce computerised reservations in 30 more railway stations by October this year to improve the efficiency in booking seats.The BR has meantime brought 53 railway stations under computerised networking through the project-Computerised Seat Reservation...

Shipbuilding industry at odds in arranging third party guarantee

The country's booming shipbuilding industry is facing hurdles in securing overseas orders as the local enterprises are finding it difficult to arrange third party guarantee from internationally recognised banks as per demand of the foreign buyers, sector insiders said Sunday.They...

corporatewatch

collect dividend warrantsBata Shoe: Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Limited has requested concerned shareholders to collect their final dividend warrants for the year 2007 from August 05 to August 07, 2008 from the share liaison office of the company at Gulistan...