Rejaul Karim Byron

The World Bank has revised its GDP growth projection upwards for Bangladesh to 2 per cent for the last fiscal year, although the figure is still far lower than the government’s estimate.

Around eight years ago, the government had approved a project to establish Kushtia Medical College and Hospital between January 2012 and December 2014 at the cost of Tk 275.44 crore.

The government will inoculate in phases nearly 14 crore people against Covid-19 with double-dose vaccine from the COVAX facility under a Tk 6,786 crore pandemic preparedness project.

Average inflation rose to a three-year high of 5.69 per cent in the just-concluded calendar year as food prices maintained an upward trend for most of 2020.

Black money-holders legalised the highest amount of undeclared assets in history in just six months of the current fiscal year as no government agency now raises questions about some sources of incomes due to a waiver announced in the budget.

A project on the construction of Chattogram City Outer Ring Road -- that was taken around ten years back in 2011 with four-year completion period -- is yet to be completed.

Black-money-holders legalised the highest amount of undeclared assets in history in just six months of the current fiscal year as no government agencies now ask questions about the sources of incomes.

The government is likely to downsize its income and expenditure targets in the revised budget because of lower revenue growth, slower implementation of development programmes and a fall in spending due to the pandemic.

Wage disbursements through digital payment methods is beneficial for employees as it helps increase savings and improves their ability to mitigate unanticipated financial shocks, according to a recent World Bank (WB) study.

The year 2020 began with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the horizon. The novel coronavirus was spreading in Europe, the destination of over 60 percent exports from Bangladesh, after wreaking havoc in China, its largest trading partner.

The government will import at least 10 lakh tonnes of rice from different countries to boost the food grain reserve amid growing concerns over the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A joint venture company that includes China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has been awarded the Cox’s Bazar airport runway expansion work for Tk 1,568.86 crore.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused Bangladesh Tk 89,500 crore in GDP losses at current prices in the last fiscal year, according to a summary report of the government.

The government is going to allow the private sector to import six lakh tonnes of rice with 25 percent duty to stabilise the rice market.

Bangladesh’s external sector came under stress in January after the outbreak of coronavirus disease in China, the country’s largest trading partner, slowed global trade, thus impacting the economy to some extent.

Bangladesh is set to graduate from the group of the least-developed countries but will face some challenges during the transition period because of the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, said a United Nations agency.

Factory activity in Bangladesh rose 4.39 per cent year-on-year in August as the economy embarked on a journey to recovery from the wreckage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed.

Development spending rose 2.66 per cent to a five-month high in November although the overall implementation is yet to receive a significant boost because of the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed yesterday.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council yesterday extended a project to install prepaid gas meters in Dhaka households, which will see 1.2 lakh more prepaid connections by December 2022.

The workers who lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 fallout across three sectors -- garments, leather and footwear -- are about to finally receive Tk 3,000 per month as financial assistance.