Column

Sarwar Ahmed It was hot and humid with an overcast sky. As we stopped to talk to farmers about progress of rice transplantation near Soling More Bazar, at Mowna, Gazipur, the water flowing through the wayside ditch was not the usual mud colour. It was bluish-black, with a disagreeable smell. In the midst of rice ... Read more

BSTI reform via private partners Habibullah N Karim On August 5, the commerce minister and the prime minister’s economic adviser shared views with members of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the impediments in the path of bolstering exports to India, our largest neighbour with whom we happen to have a very hefty ... Read more

Sarwar Ahmed As the bus took a late evening break at a restaurant during our journey to Bogra, we wanted to eat light as dinner wasn’t too far off. We asked the young boy who waited on us, what was available. Off he went reciting rapid-fire, a list of tummy filling, yummy items. Anything light ... Read more

Mamun Rashid A green bank is a bank that promotes environmental and social responsibility but operates as a traditional community bank and provides excellent services to investors and clients. Its progressive approach to the community and the earth sets it apart from other banks. It is more about focusing on ‘mother planet and its sustainability’, ... Read more

Mamun Rashid “A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors” — that is how marketing guru Philip Kotler defines “Brand”. In other words, a brand is basically a name ... Read more

Rohan Samarajiva I was surprised, during my last stay in Dhaka, to read a magazine article about Bangladesh’s “population problem” that made no reference to demographic structure. Modern scholarship no longer sees population solely as a burden, understanding that the relevant question is not about the size of the population as such, but about its ... Read more

Habibullah N Karim Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 4 inaugurated the first-ever government sponsored ICT fair of the country at Bangabandhu Novo Theatre complex in Dhaka. The country has had many ICT fairs since the late eighties but those are all sponsored and organised by the private sector. The Digital Innovation Fair is the ... Read more

From The Daily Star Bangladesh IT industry going global Habibullah N Karim The information technology industry in Bangladesh has gradually come of age and today accounts for more than Taka 25 billion or USD350 million in annual revenues. It is still a tiny blip compared to a GDP nearing USD100 billion but it’s a noticeable ... Read more

From WeeklyHoliday Abdur Rahman Khan A nation cannot progress without having a clear conviction and pride in her past glories. A citizen develops the feeling of esteem for his or her heritage through learning about the country’s historical and cultural legacy. This is why the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (ASB) have planned a three-year programme ... Read more

Ma Taslim The governor of Bangladesh Bank seems to have come out of the early euphoria over the central bank’s rapidly increasing international reserves caused largely by remittances. Like most other people he was convinced of the virtues of an ever-increasing flow of remittances and large reserves. But the balance sheet of his bank, and ... Read more

Shamsuddin Ahmed Are the Maoists returning to power or taking over power in Nepal? UCPN Maoist supreme leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has claimed Tuesday his party will soon form a national government. He did not elaborate how UCPN (Maoist) will form the national government. Will he succeed to rally support of the majority ... Read more

Md. Shairul Mashreque AT the beginning of the new millennium the world has been beset by an insurmountable challenge in the wake of global recession. Economic downhill-slide in major capitalist countries in the north, which boast of having strong economies, threatens to affect countries in the south — especially the least developed countries (LDCs). The ... Read more

Hassanuzzaman DR. Manmohan Singh has indeed proven himself to be the king of South Asian leaders by repeating history after nearly five decades. The Indian National Congress (INC) won a landslide victory in which it, along with its allies, now holds 262 seats in the parliament. Singh’s entry in 1991 as the finance minister of ... Read more

Sadeq Khan The representative government of Sheikh Hasina, brought to power by a landslide election victory of its grand alliance at the end of two years of emergency rule, is not yet faced with any serious civic challenge to its lackadaisical style of governance. The Prime Minister enjoys blind loyalty of a countrywide network of ... Read more

RED ALERT IN GARMENT SECTOR Ruling party members blamed for the trouble Abdur Rahman Khan County’s export oriented garments industries have been facing grave uncertainty posing a threat to the vital foreign currency earnings and job opportunity of the huge female workers. It is the law and order situation that has been causing concern for ... Read more

Holiday desk Amid the worst financial and jobs crisis, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is marking its 90th anniversary with a series of events across the world. The week-long programme (21-28 April) of celebration was a global convergence on the common theme of social dialogue on decent work for a fair globalization in commemorative events ... Read more

Mohammad Shahidul Islam Every year February 14th is celebrated as a day for love, exchange of gifts, promises of eternal passion, and more. True lovers pen poems inspired by their love and admiration for the women of their dreams while others just go to shops and buy cards with verses. Students of universities enjoy the ... Read more

Sadeq Khan By classical military definition, the winner in a battle is the army that remains on the battlefield when the battle is over. The Hamas leadership in the Gaza strip still stands, suffering and resisting over three weeks of savage attacks, carnage and ruination by the mighty Israeli war machine. Israeli writer and peace ... Read more

Shamsuddin Ahmed Nepal is undergoing significant changes. Maoists, who came to power through an election last year, have recently adopted a political declaration to turn the country unto a people’s republic in line with China. They have started unification of left parties. Communist (Unity Centre) merged with the Maoist on Tuesday (January 13) and Masal ... Read more

Commentary Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet: Gutsy but risky Mahfuz Anam She promised to surprise us with her choice of the cabinet, and she did. Though the media was able to get some predictions right but generally speaking she outwitted us all. Not only in choosing the individuals but equally in giving them portfolios, Prime Minister (PM) ... Read more