Grain Exporters’ Protectionism Bangladesh may feel the heat Bangladesh might get hurt by rising world agricultural prices due to protectionism of grain exporting countries. “Export taxes and export restrictions lower prices domestically [in exporting countries] but increases world food prices, thereby affecting food importing countries like Bangladesh,” said Antoine Bouet, a senior research fellow of ... Read more
bangladesh
Durga Puja ends today
The five-day celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Hindus, winds up today with the immersion of the goddess’ idols across the country. Devotees will bid a solemn farewell to their deity Durga and her children Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh through immersion after inviting her to return next
1800 secondary schools are under-performing
Around 1,800 secondary schools are performing poorly or not at all, yet the teachers at such institutions are continuing to receive salaries from the public exchequer, the government has found. Education ministry officials said that warnings will be sent to the heads of every blacklisted school. If the schools fail make improvements within a short ... Read more
Hungry for more
Siddikur Rahman rose to stardom when he became the first Bangladeshi golfer to win an Asian Tour event (Brunei Open in August 2010). Since then, he has been there or thereabouts amongst the top Asians wherever he played, even though he hasn’t managed to win another tour event. Hungry for more success, Siddikur now feels ... Read more
GP clears stand on regulator’s claim for Tk 3,034cr
Grameenphone yesterday refuted the claim of the regulator that the mobile operator will have to pay Tk 3,034 crore in unpaid revenue and tax. Kazi Monirul Kabir, chief communications officer of the company, said they “strongly disagree” with the numbers the regulator has claimed in a letter sent to GP on
ICAB gives out awards for transparent reports, accounts
Prime Bank has bagged the top award given by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) for publishing reports and accounts. This is the seventh time in a row that the bank has won this award. ICAB hands out awards to honour banks, insurance houses, nongovernmental organisations
Sitar Bonobash attracts viewers
The play “Sitar Bonobash” was staged recently at the Maulana Bhashani Auditorium in Sirajganj and attracted a good number of viewers. The play, based on an episode from the epic “Ramayan”, has been produced by the local troupe Mrittika Natyashala. Renowned dramatist, Mannan Hira, president of Bangaldesh Pathonatak Parishad, attended the first show as chief ... Read more
No rules for CNG-driven vehicles yet
CNG yet to be recognised as power source Strange it may sound, but the existing Motor Vehicle Ordinance (MVO),1983, has yet to recognise Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a power source for vehicles! No matter what the authorities think, for the past eight years, about 65 per cent of the country’s vehicles have been running ... Read more
Hi-tech driving licence on cards
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority is set to start producing hi-tech driving licences to prevent the use of fake licences by drivers, a problem that is attributed to accidents on roads. A total of 11.50 lakh licences will be issued in five years at the cost of Tk 37 crore from the public exchequer. The licences ... Read more
Trend setter — just needs little fixing
Safety Net Schemes Trend setter — just needs little fixing Int’l policy workshop sees land scarcity, huge poverty-struck population as major challenges to ensure food security Bangladesh spent 2.8 billion dollars last year on social safety net programmes (SSNPs) and is a global leader in dimensions of social protection. But with 27 million of its ... Read more
City corps, municipalities owe Tk 400cr to power agencies
A series of meetings and regular exchange of letters for months failed to make any progress in realising about Tk 400 crore due bills and surcharges from the city corporations and municipalities across the country by the five power distribution agencies. The surcharge on the Tk 158.53 crore long overdue bills of the five power ... Read more
Maha Ashtami today
The largest religious festival for the Hindus enters the third day today with thousands of devotees being expected to throng the puja mandaps (pavilion) to worship the mother goddess. This is the most important day of Durga Puja, known as Durga Ashtami, as it celebrates the victory of the goddess over Mahishasura (the buffalo-demon from ... Read more
German trade show set for a big start
The second biennial German trade show will begin in Dhaka on October 27 to showcase products of both the countries, organisers said at a press conference yesterday. The three-day fair at the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre will showcase products at 100 German and Bangladeshi stalls
IDCOL to finance five bio-electricity plants
The Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) is going to finance five bio-electricity plants around the country in a bid to promote renewable energy and reduce eco hazards. The non-bank financial institution on Monday signed a financing agreement with Seed Bangla Foundation (SBF) for setting up such five plants in five poultry farms
Remittance hits six-month low
Inward remittance fell below $1 billion in September — for the first time in six months. The central bank said the fall is seasonal and was mainly driven by a post-Eid slowdown. In September, the remittance inflow came down to $843 million, whereas Bangladesh recorded more than $1 billion in remittance a month since
Ivy, Osman, Taimur, five others in mayoral race
A total of eight mayoral candidates and 334 councillor candidates on Sunday submitted nomination papers for contesting the Narayanganj City Corporation polls, slated for October 30. A total of 56 women have submitted nomination papers for the nine posts of councillors reserved for women. Awami League’s Shamim Osman, Selina Hayat Ivy and SM Akram, and ... Read more
Rights worry over ‘disappearances’
17 ‘vanished’ in 9 months Disappearance of people has become a phenomenon so widespread that it worries the rights activists and the chief of the National Human Rights Commission. The trend of disappearance and mysterious killings has taken an alarming turn a year after the Awami League-led grand alliance came to power in January
Rush to set up LPG plants
Surging demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the fast-expanding housing sector is forcing entrepreneurs to quickly install plants and grab a share of the growing market. About a dozen companies are in line to join the existing six, which include two state-owned firms. But some 30 companies have applied to the government, seeking permission ... Read more
Regulators put restrictions
The Securities and Exchange Commission has made changes to Securities and Exchange Commission (Public Issue) Rules, 2006 for unlisted securities, known as placement shares, restricting number of placement holders within 100 and made tax identification numbers mandatory for its holders. According to a SEC notification released on Sunday, shares allotted through private placement
Teletalk likely to get BTRC nod this week
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is likely to award a temporary permission for operating a test-run of 3G mobile phone service to state-owned Teletalk, initially for a period of six months, ending weeks of tussle with the telecommunication ministry. A formal assurance in this regard is expected to come within a week, sources in BTRC