Metro, Teesta, tax reform top govt’s 5yr plan
20 August 2026
The government has announced a five-year strategic framework outlining reforms and infrastructure projects.
20 August 2026
Govt sets five-year plan to clean up banking sector
20 August 2026
The government has set out a five-year plan to clean up the banking sector, with a focus on recovering bad loans, tightening supervision, improving governance and restoring depositor confidence.
20 August 2026
4 major bridges to get advanced monitoring system
19 August 2026
The government is set to introduce an advanced Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS) on a pilot basis for four major bridges to improve structural safety, enable real-time monitoring, and extend the lifespan of key transport infrastructure across the country.
19 August 2026
MRT Line 1 and 5: Pricey dollar, inflation to double costs
18 August 2026
The Metro Rail Line-1 and -5 could end up costing more than double the original estimate because of the appreciation of the US dollar, inflation, and new taxes, found the government’s independent expert committee.
18 August 2026
The bridge that never came to be
17 August 2026
Khaleque Bhuiyan still remembers the day the piling equipment arrived at Payrakunj, seven kilometres from Patuakhali town, a spot where a bridge over the Payra river was finally meant to rise.
17 August 2026
Tk 567cr project on cards to tackle Dhaka waterlogging
17 August 2026
The government is set to undertake a Tk 567 crore project in its first phase, backed by World Bank funding, to protect the capital and surrounding areas from severe flooding and waterlogging.
17 August 2026
Patuakhali pins hopes on EPZ for jobs, industrialisation
16 August 2026
A total of 306 plots will be created in the EPZ and divided into three categories
16 August 2026
Family card: A cushion for those struggling to get by
9 August 2026
On a low-lying island in Patuakhali, 32-year-old Tanjila Begum’s husband works irregularly as a day labourer in nearby watermelon fields, where seasonal tidal surges often destroy crops and wipe out daily earnings.
9 August 2026
Decent development spending amid extenuating circumstances
Sometimes, one just needs to resign to reality.
14 July 2020
To cut costs, govt suspends buying vehicles for 2020
The government has decided not to purchase new vehicles under all operating and development expenses for the rest of 2020 as part of its austerity measures in face of falling revenues owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
9 July 2020
Two-thirds of poor families yet to receive Tk 2,500 cash support
A staggering two-thirds of the 50 lakh poor families hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic are yet to receive Tk 2,500 each in cash support because of the flawed list although they have been languishing in poverty for the last three months.
8 July 2020
Food Aid Before Eid: Free rice for 1 crore poor
The government is set to distribute 10-kilogramme rice for free to each of over one crore “ultra-poor and destitute families” ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
7 July 2020
Wage growth pitches to five-year low
Wage growth slowed to a five-year low in the just-concluded fiscal year driven by the income loss in the manufacturing and services sectors as the coronavirus pandemic-induced shutdown wiped out livelihoods of a major portion of the population in the last quarter.
7 July 2020
Khulna-Mongla Rail Project: Sad tale of delays, cost escalation
When the government approved the Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line project in December 2010, construction of the 64.75km rail line was supposed to be completed within December 2013.
6 July 2020
Can the massive forex reserves bankroll large projects?
The government is revisiting the idea of using currently healthy foreign currency reserves boosted by the drastic fall in imports and injection of budget support from external sources to bankroll major projects.
6 July 2020
Inflation overshoots target last fiscal year
Inflation ended the just-concluded fiscal year at 5.65 per cent, slightly overshooting the government’s target of 5.5 per cent, owing to the dragging supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic-induced shutdown.
6 July 2020
Govt to set up company to salvage soured loans
The government now plans to set up a state-run corporation to buy and trade distressed loans off banks as part of its efforts to clean up the financial sector.
5 July 2020
Govt looks to simplify rules as FDI plummets 13.8pc
Gross inflow of foreign direct investment to Bangladesh fell 13.8 per cent to $3.73 billion in the first 11 months of last fiscal year, largely owing to the coronavirus pandemic, which came as a shock to foreign investors.
4 July 2020
WB’s purse strings always open for Bangladesh
The World Bank has been an ever-reassuring presence in Bangladesh’s growth narrative, and the multilateral lender will continue to play that role, said its country director.
2 July 2020
Life expectancy at birth rises
Life expectancy at birth for Bangladeshis has risen to 72.6 years because of what experts said was progress made in health care and economy.
30 June 2020
NBR walks back on order seeking info to sniff out VAT evasion
The VAT Intelligence yesterday withdrew its directive that had asked banks to provide information on discrepancies in turnover figures shown by potential borrowers in returns and annual financial statements.
30 June 2020
Mobile users, FMCG companies miffed as Finance Bill 2020 stays mostly unchanged
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal must have harked back on that oft-quoted saying of English monk John Lydgate when he was finalising the Finance Bill 2020.
29 June 2020
Govt may not hike SD on telecom services
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal may scrap his plans to raise the supplementary duty (SD) on telecom services and double the deposit in VAT-related disputes following criticism and pleas from various quarters.
27 June 2020
Swiss Banks: Deposits by BD nationals drop
Just one year after a rise, Bangladeshi nationals’ deposits in Swiss banks dropped 2.26 percent year-on-year in 2019 to 603 million Swiss francs or Tk 5,427 crore.
25 June 2020
Fast-Track Projects: Govt moves to speed up work amid pandemic
Amid growing concern over the slow pace of work of almost all fast track projects due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the government is working to find ways to speed up the schemes.
24 June 2020
Budgetary grants raised to Tk 12,680cr to fight pandemic
The budgetary grants rose more than four times to Tk 12,680 crore in the next fiscal year on the back of a large block allocation to meet urgent health and social protection expenses.
23 June 2020
Govt-backed loans for state enterprises rise to Tk 60,653cr
Taxpayer-guaranteed loans for Biman Bangladesh Airlines more than doubled to Tk 10,279 crore as the state-run carrier took credits to buy new Boeing aircraft.
22 June 2020
Tax receipts keep falling as pandemic lingers
Revenue collection fell massively for the second consecutive month in May as incomes and demand for goods and services crashed because of the lengthy shutdown put in place to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
22 June 2020