The interim government's decision to increase food aid through vulnerable group feeding assistance during the lean days of ban on fishing to the fishermen families is a commendable move. Notably, the fishing ban comes on two occasions for 22 days between October 12 and November 2 to protect m
Old habits die hard. Reportedly, the information ministry essentially run by bureaucrats are once again up to the task of foiling the independence of media stipulated in the draft report submitted to the chief adviser. The reported striking off the independent media commission, the most important i
The modest surge in the disbursement of industrial credit in the last fiscal year may be considered as a sign of a rebound in the industrial activities in the country, as well as overall economic growth. Although many other economic indicators are already available, the central bank released the an
Regular loss of lives under most unfortunate circumstances has become a part of the city dwellers' precarious existence in the bustling megacity of Dhaka. The tragic death of 35-year-old Abul Kalam Azad from the bearing pad of metro rail pier falling on his head in Farmgate area has once again brou
The question of whether Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) sector is ultimately beneficial remains unresolved. Industry stakeholders and policymakers have yet to provide a definitive stance. There are foreign collaborations, but not in the form of large-scale FD
The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has always been more than a line on a map. It is a frontier where geopolitics, history, and mistrust converge - often violently. Today, as tensions flare once again along the Durand Line, the prospect of another conflict in this fragile region casts a lon
The middle-to-low-income earners, who mostly belong to the fixed income groups in society, are gradually failing to hold on to the socio-economic categories, such as the middle-income groups, they have traditionally been bracketed into. Such developments have occasionally been the stuff of th
An old joke tells of an African minister who once visited his Asian friend's huge mansion and asked how he could afford it on a government salary. The Asian smiled and gestured to a half-finished bridge and a new highway outside his window. "10 per cent from each," he said. A year later, the visit
Accusing fingers were raised from some quarters at the three devastating fire incidents at Shialbari, Mirpur, Chittagong Export Process Zone (CEPZ) and the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) within a span of just five days. They found the bogey of sabotage. Such prematur
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has long been facing a crisis of credibility regarding the accuracy and reliability of its data. For various reasons, the public cannot help but take the state-owned agency's data with a grain of salt. The latest blow to the BBS's credibility came when a se
In the absence of studies on the performance of the social safety net programmes (SSNPs), there's a common belief that despite their inherent challenges, they play a significant role in preventing a general decline in poverty rates and supporting specific sectoral activities. Introduction of SSNPs
When the cargo complex of Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) went up in flames last Saturday afternoon, the skies above Bangladesh's busiest gateway turned into a symbol of something far larger than a single accident. The orange glow rising over the capital was not just fire -- i
The government has been encouraging people to conduct financial transactions digitally using debit and credit cards, mobile financial service(MFS), mobile wallet, etc., and thus fast move towards a cashless economy. Still, the use of cash is showing no sign of declining in Bangladesh. At a discussi
