How much sustainable is foreign borrowing option?

Due to high interest rate charged by national commercial banks, the suggestion for foreign borrowing option has taken a dramatic turn. While it can be undoubtedly argued that such an option can open a door for great opportunities and promises,...

Salvaging jute mills

The jute sector is in jeopardy and farmers are losing interest in cultivating jute owing to the fall of jute prices in the market. There is a decreasing demand of jute products. As many as 15 jute mills of the...

Congress in tight corner

As the general elections in India are just knocking on the door, impression is gaining ground that the ruling Congress is heading for a miserable performance. Even though the Congress leadership - especially the party's vice-president Rahul Gandhi - is...

The spectre of inequality

The world has always been divided into rich and poor people. The divide is as old as civilisation. This long history, however, does not make it inviolable, not to speak of being sacrosanct. The rich have been accepted by society...

DSE index dips below 4,500-mark amid investors\\\' protest

Stocks witnessed sharp decline Monday for the second running session and the key index of the prime bourse dipped below 4,500 points mark as most of the investors went for selling spree. Meanwhile, a group of investors staged demonstration in...

Stocks see choppy trading at opening

Share prices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hours of trading on Monday amid choppy trading, the second trading session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the...

Erosion threatens river banks along Padma Bridge project

An inordinate delay in awarding river training work (RTW) for the planned Padma Bridge has posed a fresh threat to protection of river banks along the country's longest bridge. Sources said the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), the implementing agency of...

Apparel sector avoids recruitment of workers

Recruitment in the country's readymade garment (RMG) industry, the largest job providing organised sector, has declined significantly in recent times mainly due to the fall in export orders and the hike in wages, sector insiders said. According data available with...

SMAC — The right nexus for SMBs

With 2014 came a new buzzword to the IT sphere, SMAC, a trend which is gaining ground in the market. SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) is now all set to go explosive in the near future. Now is the...

Prospect of safe water looks bleaker

Of the 10 countries facing crisis of safe water, Bangladesh finds itself in the number seven slot. This was revealed by the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) on the eve of the World Water Day observed worldwide on March...

Capacity-demand mismatch

The finance ministry's move to finalise the revised annual development programme (RADP) for the current fiscal by trimming the original ADP faces a hurdle --one that, by any count, is very unusual. Usually, the RADP is finalised by the end...

Ukraine: U.S. hawks regain their voice

Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression is having an unintended effect on U.S. politics. It is generating a backlash against America's retreat from world leadership. That retreat was itself a backlash against President George W. Bush's overextension of U.S. military power...

The economic boost of T-20 World Cup 2014

Bangladesh has secured a place among the Super 10 teams at last to play in the final stage of T-20 Cricket World Cup 2014. Although the passage to the Super 10 initially appeared to be very smooth, it turned out...

DSE turnover hits 5-month low

Stocks returned to the red Sunday, a day after positive trend with turnover hitting five-month low as most of the investors remained reluctant to make fresh investments.The market opened with a positive spree, but could not sustain. At the end...

Stocks positive amid volatility

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hours of trading on Sunday amid choppy trading. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up...

Serious setback for Thai govt: Fresh elections are likely

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand has suffered a serious setback as country's constitutional court has declared the February 02 general election "invalid". As a fallout from this development, fresh polls are likely in the country that has been witnessing...

Tragedy again at level-crossing

In yet another tragic accident at an unguarded level-crossing in Chittagong city on March 11 last, four women garment workers were killed and a dozen others injured. The mishap took place around 8 am in Chandgaon area in the port...

Deep-rooted nexus between water, energy highlighted

TOKYO, Mar 22: The deep-rooted nexus between water and energy was highlighted Friday during the celebrations of annual World Water Day in Tokyo. "Water and energy are among the world's most pre-eminent challenges. This year's focus of World Water Day...

BD connectivity with neighbours holds key to facing challenges

Bangladesh needed to move forward to enhance connectivity with neighbouring countries to face the upcoming challenges of market access and investments from developed countries, said Mr Kei Kawano, JETRO country representative in Dhaka. It would have to keep pace with...

Solar street lamps unlikely to be completed on time

The company which bagged the solar street lamps installation job at Tongi under Gazipur City Corporation would not be able to complete the assignment on time, opine experts. The solar street lamp project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),...

Future of language education in Bangladesh

Things have truly surfaced that students are still unable to use English in their practical life even though they attain good grades in the public examinations in our country. So, assessment system should be changed to learn whether students are...

mPOS service to be launched soon

mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) service, expected to be launched within the next few months in Bangladesh, will significantly reduce the electronic payment cost and open another door of accelerating inclusive banking in Bangladesh, a top official of Visa Inc...

Photography is also poetry

Many years back I read somewhere, perhaps in Reader's Digest, that there are only three categories of people who are truly happy. To one category belongs a baby. The second one is of a poet. And the third one: a...

Upturn in private investment depends on political predictability

Bangladesh aspires to attain the middle-income status by 2021. In the last decade, the per capita income of the country has gone beyond US$ 800, and it is expected that it will reach the 1,000 mark very soon. To achieve...

PPP: Clearing the decks for successful implementation

PPP projects are of two types. The projects which are identified and listed by the government under 'Private Infrastructure Project List' for development under PPP are called 'Solicited Projects'. These projects are approved by the CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic...

Crimea issue: Is another Cold War imminent?

The outcome of referendum on Crimea was a foregone conclusion. Predictably voters voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining Russia. Polls held amid threats of sanctions by the western world and with direct Russian backing, were discarded as illegal by the...

Upazila elections, political stability and economic development

In modern democracies all elections matter. National, regional and local governments function through elected representatives. That is why elections to the local governments are as important as those to the regional government (in a federation) and local self-governing bodies. Local...

Revised Aman procurement target set to be missed

The government is set to miss its revised ongoing Aman rice procurement target during the current season although its collection has lately shown an upward trend compared to that of the last season's achievement. The government on November 27, 2013...

BPC fears net loss of Tk 84.47b over two fiscals

The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has a fear of incurring a net loss of over Tk 84.47 billion over two consecutive fiscal years (FYs) including the current one. The BPC purchases fuel products from the international market and sells the...

Solar recharge stations for easy-bikes in div HQs

The government has taken a move to set up solar power-based recharge stations for battery-run easy-bikes in the country's seven divisional headquarters. Hundreds of thousands of easy-bikes are accused of pilfering more than 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the...