Sukanta Halder

The national budget for 2021-22 is being proposed today all the while the country’s economy faces some tough realities stemming from the pandemic’s second wave.

The price of computers and IT accessories has shot up 20 per cent in the last 14 months as pandemic-induced restrictions prompted educational institutions and businesses to heighten focus on home-based schooling and work.

Nazmul Ahsan, 36, works at a bank in Dhaka as the head of the treasury. He took up health insurance at the age of 29 as a part of his financial planning.

The amusement park industry is on the brink of collapse as owners are struggling to pay salaries, bank loans and hefty maintenance costs amid an ongoing closure that began in April due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19.

Creative book publishers have been fighting an uphill battle to survive for over a year as their sales have nosedived for the pandemic that depressed demand for fiction and non-fiction among consumers.

Brisk business during the just concluded Eid shopping season helped traders breathe a sigh of relief amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown and other measures in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.

A once vibrant musical instruments business has slowly lost its lustre, according to traders, musicians and market analysts.

People’s desperation to visit their permanent residences for Eid celebrations brings cheers to vehicle rental services providers amidst the gloom of the pandemic.

The government has formed a 22-member committee to address the challenges that Bangladesh will face as a result of its transition from a least developed country (LDCs) into a developing one.

With Eid less than a week away, smiles have returned to the face of retailers after sales picked up as customers thronged shopping centres, defying the risk of contracting the deadly coronavirus.

Sales of pulse oximeter, face mask, glove and sanitiser have risen manifold, taking advantage of which some traders have increased the prices of the health and hygiene safety products.

In order to promote all kinds of local products, Sabera Anwar, a fashion entrepreneur and owner of Panache Hub and Events, has opened up a group on Facebook named “GoDeshi-Made in Bangladesh”.

Sales of mobile handsets have dropped more than 40 per cent in April compared to the January level after consumers tightened their belt as they see no immediate end to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite last year’s flying start with the production of hand sanitisers, state-owned Carew & Co is now struggling to find customers for 60,000 bottles of disinfectant it has in its store.

Anyone visiting Dhaka’s Bangshal road, known for spare parts of bikes and bicycles, would see a different scene.

Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla new year, has once again brought no cheer to clothing and sweets retailers as the coronavirus pandemic has kept a majority of customers at bay for the second year in a row.

Walton is set to market the ventilators it has produced with the help of world-renowned medical equipment manufacturer Medtronic, a development that would help critical coronavirus patients to receive proper treatment.

The government is developing the country’s first industrial park for electrical and light engineering product manufacturers at a cost of Tk 300 crore in Munshiganj, which could herald a beginning to bring the highly scattered and unorganised industries under a single platform.

Small businesses, which are considered the lifeline of the economy, had hoped that the government would take care of them to help them stay afloat when it announced a countrywide lockdown and a gigantic stimulus package to protect the economy and the people from the coronavirus disease in March last year.

Small businesses, who are yet to recover from the devastating impacts of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh, are set to receive another blow after the government yesterday directed them to shutter shops to contain the surge in infections.