N’ganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route: Electric trains on the cards
6 HOUR(s)
The government is set to introduce electric trains for the first time in Bangladesh on the 52km Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route.
6 HOUR(s)
Reserves on rise despite fuel, fertiliser shock
12 September 2026
When war in the Middle East sent fuel prices climbing, Bangladesh looked like an obvious casualty. An import-dependent economy with a thin reserve cushion and a recent history of dollar shortages had every reason to buckle. It has not.
12 September 2026
Energy: Govt okays 18 LNG cargoes from Total Energies
10 September 2026
After approving a long-term deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a US-based firm, the government yesterday decided to import at least 18 LNG cargoes from France’s TotalEnergies over the next nine months under a direct purchase arrangement.
10 September 2026
Another metro getting on track
7 September 2026
The MRT-5 southern route is finally getting a move on, with the project set to be placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) next week for approval.
7 September 2026
Where access to freshwater is a daily struggle
5 September 2026
Sharmin Begum, who lives in Barguna’s Patharghata upazila, may have done little to contribute to global warming, but she is suffering severely from its adverse impacts.
5 September 2026
LNG bill to triple as war drags on
4 September 2026
The escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens to nearly triple Bangladesh’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) subsidy bill to Tk 40,000 crore ($3.3 billion) this fiscal year, forcing the government to turn to multilateral lenders for additional assistance.
4 September 2026
Bangladesh paying near-peak prices for LNG
3 September 2026
Bangladesh is paying its highest spot price for liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the onset of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, approving a cargo at over $28 per unit as geopolitical supply shocks and domestic infrastructure failures converge to create a severe energy crisis.
3 September 2026
National pay scale: Hurrah for government employees
1 September 2026
The government yesterday approved the largest pay hike for civil service since independence, doubling the basic salary of top officials and raising the lowest pay by a record 142 percent.
1 September 2026
Nationwide Lockdown: Govt taking steps for cash, food aid for the poor
The government is working to take necessary measures to provide cash assistance and food, including rice, edible oil and other commodities to poor who are affected during the countrywide “strict lockdown” to be imposed from Thursday.
26 June 2021
10pc tax likely for investing in new factories
The amnesty to legalise undisclosed income without any question and on payment of 10 per cent tax is likely to continue in the upcoming fiscal year for individuals who will make a new investment to set up factories, officials said.
26 June 2021
FDI outlook bleak for Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s historically low foreign direct investment, which had dropped 10.8 percent to $2.6 billion last year, is unlikely to pick up in the near future as investment commitments remain lukewarm, according to the UNCTAD.
21 June 2021
Jobs treble despite trading units decline
Despite a decline in the number of wholesale and retail trade units in Bangladesh, employment in the sector nearly trebled to 1.41 crore in the past decade, according to the provisional data of the Wholesale and Retail Trade Survey 2020.
20 June 2021
Money in Swiss Banks: Bangladeshis’ deposits drop 3rd year in a row
Funds parked by Bangladeshi individuals and firms in Swiss banks dropped 6.6 percent to 563 million Swiss francs (about Tk 5,215 crore) in 2020, the third year in a row in which it declined.
17 June 2021
Business as usual for health ministry
The health ministry’s development spending was stuck at a disappointing level even after 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year for its failure to accelerate expenditures when the public needed the most.
17 June 2021
Social Safety Net Spending: Big slice goes to non-poor
In circuses, whenever artists perform the tightrope walking stunt, underneath them are wide nets to prevent them from falling to the ground and avoiding potentially life-threatening injuries -- lest they lose their balance on the thin rope and falls over.
16 June 2021
New poor is temporary
It is universally acknowledged that the global coronavirus pandemic has widened inequalities in nations all over -- including Bangladesh.
15 June 2021
BASIC Bank, BDBL merger on cards
The troubled BASIC Bank is heading for a merger with the better-performing Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) as part of the government’s efforts to improve the overall health of the country’s state banks, which have historically been sitting on a heavy pile of soured credit.
10 June 2021
Bangladesh GDP growth 2nd-best in South Asia
The World Bank yesterday upgraded Bangladesh’s GDP growth forecast for this fiscal year by 2 percentage points to 3.6 percent, making it the second best-performing economy in South Asia behind the Maldives.
8 June 2021
Supplementary Budget: Passed amid uproar over graft
Baffling -- is how one would describe the parliamentary session in which the Tk 13,987.3 crore supplementary budget for fiscal 2020-21 was passed.
7 June 2021
Whitening Black Money: Wholesale scope goes
The opportunity to whiten black money without any question from authorities regarding its source, which was offered by the government in the current fiscal year, is not going to continue the next fiscal year 2021-22.
3 June 2021
Pledges lofty, hard to deliver on
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has stuck to his strategy of making higher allocation for the health sector to combat the pandemic, protect the poor and businesses, and speed up economic recovery.
3 June 2021
Currency swap with Sri Lanka by next month
Bangladesh’s currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka to replenish the island nation’s fast-depleting foreign reserves and ease pressure on its exchange rate will be completed by next month, according to a top official of Bangladesh Bank.
2 June 2021
50Th Budget of Bangladesh: Too weighed down to relish milestone
Today, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveils his third budget, which coincidentally is the 50th fiscal plan of independent Bangladesh.
2 June 2021
FY21 National Budget: A missed opportunity
The government in last year’s budget gave priority to several crucial sectors to protect people and their livelihoods amid the pandemic, but it could not achieve the desired results due to the Covid second wave and hurdles in implementing its initiatives.
1 June 2021
Tax cut galore in next budget
“Cuts, cuts, cuts!” -- would be the chorus of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s third budget speech that he is due to deliver in the parliament tomorrow.
1 June 2021
Social safety net to widen
The allotment for other social protection programmes may go up to Tk 65,000 crore, up 41.47 percent year on year.
31 May 2021
‘Our people kept our economy strong ’
The Bangladesh economy has weathered the pandemic storm better than others and it is thanks to its citizens, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
31 May 2021
Salary, Allowances of Civil Servants: Allocation rising, service quality not
With every passing year, the share of the budget going towards civil servants’ salary and allowance gets bigger. And the proposed budget for the incoming fiscal year, due to be unveiled in the parliament on June 3, is no different.
30 May 2021