Reports on hunger and food insecurity are unnerving. The 2025 state of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI) report finds that 673 million people constituting 8.3 per cent of the global population faced acute hunger in 2024. The SOFI is an annual publication by five important United Natio
That Bangladesh is world's 13th most corrupt country among the 182 states assessed by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) is disgraceful. Only more so because the improved ranking from 2006 to 2017 could not be maintained! The highest ever score for the country was 28 in 2017. Du
As Bangladesh goes to the polls today, a whiff of fresh air dispels the gloom. Lingering speculation and conspiracy theories over the fate of the election are finally giving way to cautious optimism. Hope surges for the revival of democracy. Since the country's independence in 1971, the journey to
The country continues to witness steady growth in outbound migration, accompanied with record-breaking remittance earnings. Yet behind the encouraging headline figures lies a significant blind spot: the absence of comprehensive data on returnee migrant workers. The lack of systematic information on
As Bangladesh heads toward the February 12 parliamentary elections, foreign policy has emerged -- at least on paper -- as an important area to focus on by the two main power contenders, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. Both parties have devoted space in their election man
A local think tank, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), last Saturday (February 9) presented the findings of a survey it conducted on what the voters as well as political party representatives and candidates understood by the word 'development'. The result of the survey, as expected, was like thi
Notwithstanding various efforts and policy supports, inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh is still nominal. The annual average net inflow of FDI stood at $1.60 billion in the last 10 years which is less than one per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Like m
On the same day voters choose their representatives in the upcoming national parliamentary elections, a crucial and arguably more consequential vote on constitutional reforms will also take place. This referendum could well prove to be a turning point for democracy. Yet while the election dominates
The three-day Bangladesh Light Engineering Expo 2026, only the second of its kind, has brought to the fore the sombre fact of the gap between the country's capacity development in this sector and the potential it holds. Even the second such exposition corroborates this unmistakeable fact. But here
The 13th parliamentary elections, slated for February 12, 2026, mark a watershed moment in the country's history. The election is crucial as it is expected to pave the way for Bangladesh's return to democracy after more than a decade and a half of authoritarian rule under the Sheikh Hasina-led Awam
For the first time in nearly two decades, the people of Bangladesh are being offered a genuine opportunity to exercise their right to vote under a non-partisan interim government. The election scheduled for 12 February is more than a routine democratic exercise. It is a moment freighted with histor
As the World War I or WWI ended, the victors of the war made the Covenant of the League of Nations, in short, League, in January 1920, wherein the Treaty of Versailles was included. The mission was to maintain world peace. But it failed in its mission because the vanquished in the WWI was treated l
The current fiscal year is an election year, with polls scheduled for February 12. A key question is how the economy will respond to the election in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. As the economy has entered the Political Business Cycle (PBC), the impact of this cycle on growth needs
