Rejaul Karim Byron

The government and the development partners plan to inject more money into the economy for its recovery amid the pandemic while the progress in implementing the stimulus packages for employment creation and revitalisation of the rural economy remains slow.

General inflation fell to 5.52 per cent in November, bucking a rising trend, driven by a significant drop in food prices, official data showed yesterday.

Bangladesh is going to be connected with a third submarine cable to meet the rapidly growing demand for internet bandwidth and ensure uninterrupted broadband internet services.

None of the government frontline workers infected with coronavirus received the compensation they were promised seven months ago. And families of only 42 of the 133 frontline workers who died with Covid-19 have been compensated as of November 4.

The economy is apparently sailing safely through the turbulent times amid additional fund allocated to tackle the coronavirus crisis and anaemic growth of tax collection as revenue expenditure fell 3.66 per cent in the first quarter.

After the government announced 21 stimulus packages involving more than Tk 1,21,000 crore to tackle the pandemic fallout, 39.23 percent of the total amount or Tk 47,615 crore was disbursed till October 31, according to a report of the finance ministry.

Private sector credit growth dropped heavily in October due to the eroding confidence of businesses amid the potential threat of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed ministries to undertake new projects cautiously to avoid unnecessary public expenditure as the government will have to spend a considerable amount money to procure Covid-19 vaccines to immunise the whole nation, officials said.

The National Board of Revenue yesterday asked banks and financial institutions to provide detailed information on all types of accounts and transactions of Md Monir Hossain, also known as Golden Monir, his family members and their five firms.

The government has failed to provide a special honorarium to healthcare professionals more than four months into its announcement of rewarding medical frontliners in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Election Commission has prepared a proposal for the second phase of a project to distribute smart NID cards among all citizens aged above 10.

The government is likely to approve a Tk 101 crore scheme today to promote cultivation of improved varieties of grass among dairy and beef cattle farmers to boost yields and reduce their high dependence on concentrate feed.

The government’s efforts to fast-track the construction of Payra deep-sea port in Patuakhali has received a blow as the primary infrastructure development project is set to be delayed by two years while the cost will go up by Tk 1,024 crore.

The government has alerted banks about the threat of a cyberattack, instructing them to put in place precautionary measures to prevent hackers from stealing money.

The government has alerted banks about the threat of a cyberattack, instructing them to put in place precautionary measures to prevent hackers from stealing money.

The government has alerted the banks about the threat of a cyberattack, instructing them to put in place precautionary measures to prevent hackers from stealing money.

Bangladesh is going to compete in the second review of a UN panel next year for graduation to a developing country from a least developed one as it met all the three criteria for getting out of the LDC bloc.

In the face of criticisms, the government is going to evaluate its economic rescue scheme announced six months ago to tackle the fallout of the pandemic.

The government is looking to produce 42 per cent higher corn at 56.93 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal year to meet the growing demand for grains in the feed industry.

The government has decided to introduce a Green Factory Award to ensure workplace safety for the workers, safeguard the environment from pollution and maintain compliance with international standards.