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India is to phase out the controversial presence of large numbers of its troops in towns across the Muslim-majority Kashmir region, the country’s home minister announced yesterday. Such a move would be the first time the armed forces have been pulled out of urban areas in the disputed region since an insurgency against Indian rule ... Read more

Farm sector, major environmental initiatives, hugely expanded social safety net set proposed budget big-spending Finance Minister AMA Muhith proved his reputation of being a straight talker when he placed his maiden budget for the new government in parliament yesterday that explicitly aimed at protecting the domestic industry and at the same time laid down the ... Read more

Earning Tk 79,461 crore; Expenditure Tk 82,ooo crore; ADP Tk 30,500 crore; deficit Tk 34,358 crore; GDP growth target 5.5 per cent Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith presented a Tk. 1,13819 crore national budget for 2009-10 in parliament on Thursday with special emphasis on implementing the ruling Awami League’s election pledge – ‘Charter of ... Read more

Officials of the import wing of Chittagong Customs House (CCH), biggest revenue earner for the national exchequer, reportedly became over efficient and finished formalities of clearing more than 1800 automobiles before Wednesday midnight. According to some of the retired customs officials the state exchequer could have received more than Taka 540 million if the clearing ... Read more

As the new government stresses strong and expanded social-safety net in its flagship vision of change, Finance Minister Muhith proposed to allocate Tk 1,176 crore for employment generation for the hardcore poor in a bid to give a shot in the arm of the rural economy. In his budget speech in parliament yesterday he said ... Read more

The government has stressed the private sector involvement to increase electricity generation to 20,000 MW by 2021 from 3,800MW at present. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in his budget speech said, “We are determined to take appropriate steps to increase power generation to 20,000 MW by 2021. It is not possible on the part ... Read more

The finance minister, AMA Muhith, allocated Tk 21,367 crore for education, health and technology sectors in the proposed national budget for the 2009-10 financial year terming them integral part of total development planning. The amount is 19 per cent of the total budget. In current fiscal year, the allocation for education and technology was Tk ... Read more

Amnesty offered in form of investment upon 10pc tax The government yesterday proposed to allow whitening of black money in exchange for payment of 10 percent tax on the amount, with a caveat that the whitened money must be invested in any of prescribed 62 sectors. The 62 prescribed sectors are divided into three categories: ... Read more

Amnesty offered in form of investment upon 10pc tax The government yesterday proposed to allow whitening of black money in exchange for payment of 10 percent tax on the amount, with a caveat that the whitened money must be invested in any of prescribed 62 sectors. The 62 prescribed sectors are divided into three categories: ... Read more

Some consumer items will be costlier and some others cheaper due to the proposed taxes and duties in the budget for fiscal 2009-10. The new budget proposes an increase in supplementary duty on import of luxury vehicles, and tax on private cars at specific rates on the basis of their engine capacity (CC). Prices of ... Read more

Watching television in the afternoon is rare for Abidur Rahman. But keen to know what the new budget holds for a middle class family like his, he opted to upset his daily routine yesterday. He returned from work early and tuned in to hear Finance Minister AMA Muhith’s speech. Last year’s budget by the caretaker ... Read more

A shopkeeper was killed and two more people were injured when local union parishad chairman Munir Hossain opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Loharpool area of Kamrangirchar on the outskirts of the capital Tuesday afternoon. Witnesses said the incident took place at around 1:30pm when several hundred people of Loharpool, Ashrafabagh, Nizambagh and ... Read more

Army tells JS body about equipment dearth in UN missions; seeks urgent initiative Bangladeshi troops engaged in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions face a dearth of equipment, though their work abroad earns the country around Tk 1,200 crore a year. The crisis is acute in 19 contingents across Liberia, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Congo. ... Read more

He urges opposition to discuss everything in parliament Awami League spokesperson and LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam on Tuesday blasted the BNP’s remark ‘on midterm polls after dissolving the parliament’ terming it a daydream. Asked about the reaction about the comment of BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain – ‘the ruling Awami League has lost ... Read more

Law minister Shafique Ahmed on Tuesday said that the Anti-Corruption Commission was used against democracy by an influential quarter during the two-year tenure of the immediate past interim government. The army-led joint forces had arrested and sued political leaders in anti-graft drives under the commission during the period to prove that democracy was dysfunctional and ... Read more

As the new budget is going to be placed tomorrow, leaders of the apex-chamber FBCCI yesterday appealed to the government not to set ambitious tax-revenue target by expanding the tax net as it might hamper the smooth pace of domestic investment. They said it is speculated that the tax-revenue-earning target in the coming budget might ... Read more

Agency ups security for itself Security measures have been beefed up in and around the office of the Detective Branch (DB) of the police in the capital following threats issued to some officials of the intelligence agency allegedly by the men of the Dubai-based underworld mafia don Daud Ibrahim. ADC of the DB Mahbub Alam ... Read more

Samples could be sent to Denmark for lab test A committee constituted by the health ministry on Tuesday started investigation into the reported death and sickness of the children after taking Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets as a third child died reportedly of complications from the medicines in Pirojpur on the day. Besides the ... Read more