Views / Opinions

Tobacco taxation and Bangladesh: some recommendations

Tobacco taxation and Bangladesh: some recommendations

Tobacco is a man-made menace the world is going through for decades. Bangladesh is very much within the risk arena of this menace. The country is listed among the world’s top 10 tobacco-consuming countries. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2017 (Report Published in 2020), 37.8


Tobacco taxation calls for revision

Tobacco taxation calls for revision

Tobacco is a man-made menace the world is confronting for decades. Bangladesh is very much within the risk arena of this menace. The country is listed among the world's top 10 tobacco consuming countries. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2017 (report published in 2020), 37.8 million

Opaque onion-price episode

Opaque onion-price episode

The price of onion, a pungent-tasting tuber, started rising abruptly in the first week of May when the local market was overwhelmed with its abundant supply. The onion market became volatile in the following weeks. The decision taken on June 04 last to lift restriction on the import of the item did

Coping with new school curriculum

Coping with new school curriculum

Six months have passed since a new curriculum was introduced to schools in Bangladesh. Following this curriculum, first, sixth and seven graders were not yet required to sit for any conventional examinations. Rather, they are supposed to be assessed through various individual and group tasks, assig

Rethinking building design  to battle elements

Rethinking building design to battle elements

The last decade has given an indication of what is in store for humanity when it comes to the weather. It has been the hottest in recorded history. Every continent has had its share of floods and fires, cyclones and hurricanes to the point where they've begun to be treated as the new normal. Bangla

Achilles heel of country's exports

Achilles heel of country's exports

Amid reports of declining foreign exchange reserve and runaway inflation, there is not much for the general public to be optimistic about. Not even in the just proposed national budget, the biggest ever in the country's budgetary history, did the average person find any solace, as it did come up wi

Comeback of Covid-19 is a cause for concern

Comeback of Covid-19 is a cause for concern

The death of two people on Friday since the latest death from Covid-19 on March 28 last---exactly 66 days ago---is indeed a cause for concern. It is not only because of the two deaths from the disease from which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently withdrawn the worldwide health emergen

City metro rail coming of age

City metro rail coming of age

With all the nine stations on Uttara-Agargaon MRT Line-6 now pressed into operation, capital Dhaka's overhead metro communication is veritably a dream come true - though partly. The segment opened on December 29, 2022. The rest of the total 20.1-kilometre line is set to open in December this year.

Financing a decent public transport system

Financing a decent public transport system

The bus-dependent chaotic public transport in the country, especially in the city of Dhaka, is a curse for the hundreds and thousands of commuters. Inadequate public buses and minibuses with defaced and wornout exteriors and terrible interiors like narrow accesses and seats, dirty floors and broken

Dengue: A likely seasonal health emergency

Dengue: A likely seasonal health emergency

Health Minister Zahid Malik sounded ominous the other day when he cautioned everybody about vector-borne dengue becoming a serious problem this year. The minister while talking to newsmen explained the reasons for apprehending a major outbreak of the disease that is lately affecting even remote ar

Raising age limit to enter govt job

Raising age limit to enter govt job

Mukta Sultana, who obtained her master's degree from Dhaka University-affiliated Eden College in 2019, had been trying hard to secure a job for years. Recently, she crossed the age limit fixed for entering the government jobs. And out of frustration, she set all her academic certificates on fire in

Challenging time for economy

Challenging time for economy

Bangladesh economy is facing a trial by fire. Multiple issues are taking a toll on it, particularly the seemingly unstoppable food inflation that is taking a toll on the majority people. The inward foreign remittance and export earnings have remained more or less stagnant. The internal revenue coll

Dengue, a rising public health concern

Dengue, a rising public health concern

Reports have it that in 24 hours till Sunday (May 28) morning, 67 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country. What is of concern here is that, of those dengue patients, the overwhelming number of the cases (58) were  from the capital city, while the rest 9 were from all over the coun