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
The question whether domestic policies alone can effectively boost trade is both timely and complex. To understand the impact and limitations of such policies, it is essential to consider them within the broader context of today's global trading environment-an environment shaped as much by external
For more than a decade, the unresolved Teesta water-sharing agreement has stood as one of the most visible reminders of the fragility and asymmetry that continue to shape relations between India and Bangladesh. Every few years, New Delhi reiterates its commitment to concluding the deal. Every few y
The results of a study conducted by UNICEF Bangladesh and UNICEF Office of Research -- Innocenti, on classroom learning in Bangladesh unveiled last week in the city showed that students from the primary level entering the secondary education in schools lack basic foundational skills. In othe
The government announced a 7-day Eid-ul-Azha holiday from 25 to 31 May and cancelled Saturday, 23 May, as a weekly holiday to offset the long break. During Eid-ul-Fitr in March last, it added March 18 as a holiday, creating another 7-day break from March 17 (Shab-e-Qadr) to March 23. This pattern
It is the height of summer in Dhaka, so it doesn't rain very often. Even then, the city's residents know from experience that a single shower is all it takes to turn their streets and alleys into stagnant pools. That a city of over fifteen million people should flood from a moderate downpour is no
Results of the first public examination, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent that is, are traditionally published within two months after the completion of the exam. This year the results may be delayed. Many of the examiners who applied for evaluation of examination scripts a
Underprivileged rural women of Jhenaidah have set an admirable example of self-reliance. Instead of taking micro-credit at the risk of defaulting, they are making impressively designed handicrafts with an eye to foreign market. According to a recent report by a vernacular daily, a total of 800 wome
One of the most frequently discussed mechanisms for increasing revenue for the National Board of Revenue (NBR), as well as improving the country's Tax-GDP ratio, is the expansion of the tax net. The persistently low Tax-GDP ratio clearly reflects a narrow tax base-one that, despite repeated commitm
In the vast bowl-shaped wetlands of north-eastern Bangladesh, the rhythm of life is dictated by water. For generations, farmers in the haor regions have lived with the paradox of abundance and vulnerability: fertile land that yields the country's most vital crop, yet remains perilously exposed to t
Boro, with its annual share of the country's total rice output ranging approximately from 55 per cent to 60 per cent, is actually the largest contributor to Bangladesh's total rice production. As an irrigated crop of dry season, it outperforms the monsoon-dependent Aman (roughly 35-39 per cent ) an
Formulating investment-friendly policies, reducing cost of doing business, developing infrastructures and streamlining as well as modernising the government departments to ensure the necessary services to business enterprises have been the main focus of view exchanges at the meetings held at differ
In a developing economy, employment in the industrial and service sectors typically grows faster than in agriculture. The industrial sector, as the main driver of economic growth, absorbs surplus rural labour and boosts productivity through mechanisation, scale, and technological upgrading. This pr
