Traffic mobility in Dhaka City has long been a cause for concern. It has an average speed of 4.8 to 6.4 kilometre per hour--- almost same as the walking speed. Due to this slow speed of vehicles on city roads, the annual loss in productivity stands approximately at $6.5 billion. The problems are kn
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission's (BSEC) decision to strengthen digital oversight of investors' assets is a long-overdue step towards restoring confidence in the capital market. According to a report published in this newspaper, the regulator has decided to make use of certified,
This year's Higher Secondary Certificate examinations opened with an absentee rate of 36 per cent among regular students, up nearly seven percentage points from 29 per cent of last year. Of the roughly 1.5 million students who enrolled in class 11 after passing the Secondary School Certificate exam
In a move awaited since long, the incumbent BNP government reportedly formed a search committee to select key members of the new anti-graft body. Already four months have elapsed since the chairman and two commissioners of the seventh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) reportedly resigned voluntarily
The Bangladesh Bank's (BB) latest Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the first half of FY2026-27 signals continuity rather than change. Faced with persistently high inflation, the central bank has decided to maintain its contractionary monetary-policy stance, keeping the policy repo rate unchanged
With as many as 64 amendments, the proposed Finance Bill was passed in parliament as the Finance Act 2026 on Monday last. If the budget is a comprehensive financial plan or a roadmap for projected income and expenditure over a specific period, the finance act is a legislative instrument that outlin
It is common knowledge that any household's general tendency is to spend less than what it earns. But when the expenditures to meet basic necessities like housing, food, transports, healthcare, taxes, etc., exceed earnings, the household in question cannot save. If the pattern of less income than e
At a time when automobiles emit roughly 3.5 to 3.8 billion metric tons of CO2 globally, the urgency of transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is quite evident. The emission accounts for nearly 10 per cent of all energy-related exhaust fumes and 7.0 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG). In Bangladesh, th
A survey conducted by the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) titled 'Corruption in Service Sectors: The National Household Survey 2025' has once again brought to light the alarming prevalence of corruption in the country. The survey gathered households' experiences with 18 public service s
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is back home after a six-day trip to Malaysia and China, marking the first overseas tour of his tenure. The China leg ran from June 22 to 26 and carried him through meetings including with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. These meetings culminating in the rel
