Md Asaduz Zaman

The government plans to increase its development spending slightly in the upcoming fiscal year due to the narrow fiscal space, the dollar crisis, the conditions attached to the IMF’s loan programme, and higher expenses on subsidies and interest payments. 

Inflation in Bangladesh fell slightly to 9.24 per cent in April, driven by a decline in food prices, although it still remains at an elevated level compared to historic trends, official figures showed yesterday.

A project of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) aimed at developing its industrial estate in Barishal and improving infrastructure there has again missed the deadline for completion owing to sluggish implementation, official documents showed.  

A project for expanding artificial reproduction and implementing embryo transfer technology in livestock farming has been delayed once again due to slow implementation.

The compensation for worker deaths due to factory accidents in Bangladesh is still lower than the per capita income of its nationals, according to the leader of a workers’ rights body.

A single company can’t have more than one representative director in the board of a non-bank financial institution (NBFI), said the Bangladesh Bank yesterday. 

Female labour force participation in rural areas has increased significantly in Bangladesh thanks to women’s growing involvement in the agriculture sector and urban-rural migration brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic.

The first nine months of the current fiscal year of 2022-23 saw the lowest implementation rate of the annual development programme (ADP) in at least the last 10 years, with only 41.65 per cent of the total outlay being spent till March, showed official figures.

With Eid-ul-Fitr just around the corner, streets all over Bangladesh are bustling with people who are either out shopping for gifts or groceries as well as those travelling home for the holiday.

Yesterday’s blaze at Dhaka New Super Market has severely affected trade of nearby markets, that too with just a week to go before Eid-ul-Fitr. 

An increasing number of families are becoming connected with the formal financial system by depositing and borrowing money, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). 

Monthly average household income and expenditure in Bangladesh doubled in the last six years and nearly tripled in 12 years, official figures showed yesterday. 

The poverty rate in Bangladesh has declined to 18.7 per cent and the extreme poverty rate stood at 5.6 per cent, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

A project of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to build 34 buffer warehouses has once again failed to meet its deadline and become costlier due to slow implementation.

The government plans to take up a Tk 2,995-crore project for enhancing its technical and administrative capacity to manage the environment in a sustainable manner across the country.

The commerce ministry’s Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) project, which aims to expand Bangladesh’s export basket, has once again failed to meet its deadline and become costlier due to slow implementation.

Although wage growth in Bangladesh has been slowly climbing since July last year, it has still remained below inflation for the 14th month consecutively, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Inflation in Bangladesh jumped to a seven-month high of 9.33 per cent in March as food prices rose and the adjustment of oil, gas, and electricity prices took hold, highlighting the pains low-income households are going through.

Although the government has from time-to-time laid emphasis on the timely completion of projects, the agriculture ministry will seek a third extension for one on fruit production, taking the completion time to 10 years from an initial five years.

Masudur Rahman completed his post-graduation in economics from Sirajganj Government College last year.