Monday, January 20, 2025

Chhayanaut turns gold

As I entered the new red brick Chhayanaut Sangskriti Bhaban in Dhanmondi, I was struck by its magnificence. The structure had remained true to the school’s founding philosophy of “open door for all”— the building purposefully has no perimeter walls. There was a constant mass of students, teachers, poets, artists, young and old streaming through ... Read more

Stock market stimulus package announced

The Security and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced the stock market stimulus package which included some immediate steps to the relief  of mostly institutional inventors and pledges for some special schemes for non-institutional investors. The commission chair, M Khairul Hossain, in the afternoon announced a number of steps

Poor English downs projects

Finds planning ministry report on implementation of donor-funded schemes Guess what slows down the implementation of donor-funded projects in Bangladesh? Lack of money? No. It is the officials’ poor skill in communicating in English with foreign donors. This weakness has been identified in a report by the Implementation, Monitoring and

Stocks plunge ahead of stimulus announcement

Speculation over non-inclusion of CRR, SLR reduction spread panic Dhaka stocks plunged by 224 points on Wednesday in late panic-driven selling following a rumour in mid-session that the government’s stimulus package which would be announced after trading hours would not include reduction of banks’ cash reserve requirement and statutory liquidity ratio. DGEN, the benchmark general ... Read more

Beautification goes on silently

The government has taken up a massive scheme to beautify the 98-acre area of Dhanmondi Lake in the capital. The Tk 24-crore Dhanmondi Lake Restoration Project got rolling this week, with the work order being issued before the Eid-ul-Azha holidays. Neither the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) nor any other authority, however, made a formal announcement ... Read more

Use English as 2nd language officially

Suggest speakers at Hay Festival Dhaka Bangladeshi writing in English has mostly remained a step below the international standard, preventing the country’s rich culture and literature from reaching out to an international audience. The reason, litterateurs told an enthusiastic audience at the Hay Festival Dhaka, is that English has remained an alien language in the ... Read more

Journalists, not industrialists, should run broadcast journalism

Participants of a roundtable on Tuesday said that broadcast journalism should be run by journalists and not by industrialists. Speaking at the discussion on ‘what we have achieved in the era of broadcast journalism’ organised to mark World Television Day officials, industrialists and working journalists said that

DSE turnover crosses Tk 8b mark

Buoyed by a number of measures to lift the stockmarket, turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange crossed Tk 8 billion on Tuesday, surpassing by a staggering nearly Tk 3 billion transaction of the day before. The bullish run has been continuing for the past couple of days after the bourse authority and the National Board ... Read more

ICT fair kicks off, with focus on tech in daily life

The fourth BCS ICT World 2011, an exhibition of information and communication technology, kicked off in Dhaka yesterday with a slogan for technology in education and daily life. The exposition that pulled in 50 local and foreign companies showcases ICT innovations at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. The five-day expo organised by Bangladesh Computer ... Read more

Guerrilla wins best Asian film award

Bangladeshi feature film ‘Guerrilla’, which recreates the heroic deeds of freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War on an epic canvas, today won the best Asian film award at the 17th Kolkata Film Festival (KFF). Altogether 12 films competed in the Asian Select section for the NETPAC award. This was for the first time a ... Read more

I enjoy both acting and modelling: Shokh

For Anika Kabir Shokh, it did not take long to win the hearts of the TV viewers. Though a newcomer in the scene, combining her good looks with talent the dancer-actor-model’s rise to fame and glamour has been speedy. Today the young sensation is one of the busiest artistes in the country’s entertainment scene. However, ... Read more

13pc power tariff hike at retail level likely

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Berc) yesterday recommended that the retail tariff of electricity of the Power Development Board (PDB) be increased by 12.86 percent, against a proposal of 21 percent. The average retail tariff is now Tk 4.35 per unit (each kilowatt hour). During a public hearing at the Berc office in Karwan Bazar, the ... Read more

Civil society united against DCC split

Members of civil society on Thursday observed that splitting Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) would not ensure better civic services rather it would serve the political interests of the ruling Awami League. The observation came at a round-table discussion on “Division of Dhaka City Corporation and Relevant Thought,” which was organised by Sushashoner Jonne Nagorik (Sujan) ... Read more

A stride in solar panel manufacturing

A stride in solar panel manufacturing Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd (RREL) is set to manufacturer solar panels in the country by next month, to tap growing demand for green energy at home and abroad. The company has already set up a plant in Ashulia in Dhaka to manufacture 18MW PV (photovoltaic) solar panels a year ... Read more