N’ganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route: Electric trains on the cards
9 HOUR(s)
The government is set to introduce electric trains for the first time in Bangladesh on the 52km Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route.
9 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
Covid-19 Vaccination: Effective also in economic terms
An intense and sustained vaccination campaign can play a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s future economic benefits up to more than 10 percent of its current GDP, according to a new report of the World Bank.
31 March 2021
Did remittance really increase in South Asia?
World Bank in its latest twice-a-year regional update has raised question whether remittance flow in the South Asian countries has really increased.
31 March 2021
WB now sees 5.6pc GDP growth
Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) may grow by as high as 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal year, subject to three factors, said the World Bank yesterday.
31 March 2021
WB now doubles GDP growth forecast
The World Bank has more than doubled its gross domestic product (GDP) growth prediction for Bangladesh for the current fiscal year as the economy shows signs of recovery.
28 March 2021
50 years of Bangladesh: From empty coffers to hope, cheers
The state coffer was empty after Bangladesh’s nine-month-long Liberation War. Poverty, hunger, natural disasters, famine, crumbling infrastructure, political turmoil, and coups in the first decade of Bangladesh’sinception did not paint a picture that would radiate hope.
25 March 2021
Daunting challenges ahead
Bangladesh needs to improve infrastructure and standard of education, equip the youth population with market-oriented skills and uproot corruption to become a high-income country, experts say.
25 March 2021
Govt to import 50,000 tonnes of rice from India
The government yesterday approved the import of 50,000 tonnes of rice from India in order to increase the country’s food stock and control spiralling prices.
24 March 2021
Work and Test Relief: Govt raises allocation by 81.25pc
The government has increased the allocation for its Money for Work and Test Relief (TR) programmes by 81.25 percent for the current fiscal year to revitalise a pandemic-hit rural economy and provide money to people through development of rural infrastructure.
22 March 2021
Rising imports leave little room to use reserves for dev projects
The government’s plan to use foreign exchange reserves to bankroll infrastructure projects may face difficulty in the current fiscal year as rising imports will leave little leeway for making such lending.
20 March 2021
India-funded projects see slow progress
The implementation of the 44-kilometre Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur rail line under an Indian line of credit (LoC) has made progress of 31.2 per cent since its construction began 11 years ago.
18 March 2021
Weak feasibility study costs DPDC Tk 629cr
An “in-house feasibility study” of Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) has come to the fore for all the wrong reasons, having cost a project an excess Tk 629 crore and four years’ delay.
16 March 2021
Forex now for dev projects
In a first-ever move, the government is going to use €524.56 million from the ballooning foreign exchange reserves for a development project.
15 March 2021
Agrani Bank sole supplier of forex for Padma bridge
State lenders in Bangladesh are sometimes in the news for all the wrong reasons. But they also carry the weight of the fast-expanding economy.
15 March 2021
Tax support needed for job recovery
Restructure of corporate tax, improvement in the ranking of the Ease of Doing Business Index, and special allocation for SMEs should get priority in the upcoming budget to draw investment and revive the job market, employers and economists say.
14 March 2021
Tk 5,883cr digital connectivity project on way
The government is set to undertake a huge Tk 5,883 crore digital connectivity project, in a move that could equip every corner of the country with the latest ICT infrastructure, making almost all government services digital and increasing the use of ICT at field levels.
13 March 2021
30,000 homes for freedom fighters
The government has planned to build 30,000 homes for insolvent valiant freedom fighters and family members of the martyred and deceased war heroes in a bid to uplift their socioeconomic status.
12 March 2021
Govt approves import of another 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice
As a part of its aggressive push to increase the country’s food stock, the government yesterday approved three proposals to import a total of 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice from India, Thailand and Vietnam under state-to-state arrangements.
10 March 2021
New policy for faster rice import
To replenish the country’s fast-depleting food stock, the government has approved a proposal to lessen the time of bidding process by over a month for ensuring a faster import of rice.
3 March 2021
Covid Fallout on Fast-Track Projects: Some coping better than others
Annual allocations for four of the seven ADP-funded first-track projects have either increased or remained the same, a sign that those are coping well with the pandemic fallout.
2 March 2021
Test Relief, Food for Work: It’s now cash for work
In the face of depleting food stock and sluggish public procurement of foodgrains, the government has started providing cash instead of rice or wheat to implement its Test Relief and Food for Work programmes.
2 March 2021