The recent decline in green and sustainable financing by banks and financial institutions (FIs) poses a significant challenge to achieving environmental sustainability. While a handful of private banks have managed to maintain or even exceed their targets in funding green projects, the broader tren
In the event of a demand-supply mismatch involving any item, essential or otherwise, unscrupulous elements usually try to take advantage of the situation in a country like Bangladesh where one can easily getaway with committing a crime. Lately, that is happening with the textbooks that are made ava
When the interim government took power on August 8 last year, the economy was in ruins, thanks to its depredations by the deposed, rapacious autocratic regime. So, reviving the economy was obviously one of the core challenges facing the incumbent administration. So, a 12-member task force was
The government's decision to set up a six-member expert panel to renegotiate power tariffs signals a potential shift to redesign what has long been perceived as a lucrative domain for private power plant owners. The initiative aims to reduce power purchase costs and ease the state's debt burden. Th
A move now underway, according to a report carried in the FE on Tuesday last, for introduction of a universal insurance policy in the country under the National Insurance Policy 2014 looks highly appealing. The Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has accordingl
Foreign adviser Mr Touhid Hossain's ongoing four-day visit to China, the first-ever bilateral meeting between the incumbent interim government and that country, bears special significance for Bangladesh. This is more so because the meeting is taking place on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the d
If the purpose behind preparation of the white paper on the state of the country's economy was to identify the economic malaises and find some ways out of the current imbroglio, the follow-up by the interim government has been conspicuous by its absence. This has prompted the white paper committee
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)'s introduction of stricter Quality of Service (QoS) standards is a crucial step towards improving the services provided by mobile phone operators and internet service providers (ISPs) in Bangladesh. The draft regulation titled BTRC Quali
A transparent, consistent and predictable tax structure is necessary not just for successful revenue generation; it is also for encouraging investment which is vital for the development of the national economy. It plays a crucial role in inviting foreign direct investment that the country now badly
When the private sector had been struggling due to fall in investment amid high inflation rate thanks to enhanced policy rate aimed at tightening money supply, it forced banks to raise interests leading to credit crunch. So, it is not surprising that the fallout from the overall crisis in the
