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Civil society think tank the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) yesterday termed the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2009-10 conservative rather than ambitious one in terms of growth-target achievement. Briefing media to express CPD’s view on the budget, its Research Fellow and former Executive Director Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said, “The country achieve 5.9 per ... Read more

CPD, MCCI strongly oppose; finance minister terms it ‘political compromise’ The provision for whitening undisclosed money in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2009-’10 is ‘a political compromise’, said the finance minister yesterday, after several organisations scathingly criticised the government’s move. Every year during budget time, the issue of whitening black money becomes a ... Read more

Recruiting agencies decry proposal to scrap VAT exemption facility The government’s move to revoke the VAT exemption facility for manpower exporters will ultimately hurt migrant workers, as it will increase the cost of going abroad for work, recruitment agents and migration analysts said yesterday. “At a time when manpower export is suffering from the fallout ... Read more

Awami League lawmaker Tipu Munshi’s son Apu Munshi (25) died at a city hospital soon after his admission there on Friday night with bullet wounds. Police quoting family sources said Apu has been suffering from mental depression and he might have shot himself with his father’s revolver. Bullet hit Apu was taken to the United ... Read more

People urged not to panic over WHO declaration Nations around the world said they were ready to combat the spread of the swine flu virus yesterday, urging people not to panic after the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic. WHO officials stressed that the designation of a “moderate” pandemic did not mean the number ... Read more

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