Dhaka, May 10 – The revenue collection target for the 2019-20 fiscal has been set at Tk 3.97 lakh crore to reduce dependency on foreign aid and grants. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been tasked with collecting Tk…
Category: Finance
Instability in BD media to be over soon: Info Minister says
Dhaka, May 9 (UNB) – Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said the instability in the media, especially in TV channels, over the insecurity of journalists’ jobs will be over soon as the government is taking various steps in…
Deep clean: How ‘blue finance’ can save our oceans
The world’s oceans are running out of breath. In the past 50 years, we have lost nearly half our coral reefs and mangrove forests and the size of marine populations has halved. A third of global fish stocks are already…
BD President asks doctors to reduce consultation fees
Dhaka, Apr 29 (UNB) – President Abdul Hamid on Monday urged specialist physicians to serve patients more sincerely and take an initiative to reduce their consultation fees as these are beyond common people’s capacity. “You (doctors) are engaged in a…
Arab League pledges $100M a month to Palestinian Authority
Cairo, Apr 22 (AP/UNB) — The Arab League has pledged $100 million per month to the Palestinian Authority to make up for funds withheld by Israel because of payments made to the families of Palestinian attackers and prisoners. Palestinian President…
Impact of high debt levels on LDCs ‘can’t be overstated’: UN
The impact of high levels of debt on development efforts “cannot be overstated”, the head of the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) told a Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on least development countries (LDCs) on Saturday. “While debt financing remains an important…
2500 schools colleges to get govt monthly pay order from May
Dhaka, April 10 – Education minister Dr Dipu Moni yesterday said at least 2,500 non-government educational institutions across the country are going to enjoy the monthly pay order (MPO) facilities from next month. The minister said they have screened approximately…
Ershad donates all his assets to a trust
Dhaka, Apr 7 (UNB) – A day after nominating his younger brother as his party successor, ailing Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Sunday donated his all assets to a trust. “Our chairman has donated his all movable and immovable…
Dr Kamal slams govt for ‘making economy bankrupt’ with loans
Dhaka, Mar 28 – Jatiya Oikyafront Convener Dr Kamal Hossain on Thursday alleged that the government is making the Bangladesh economy bankrupt by imposing a huge burden of loans on people in the name of develop projects. “The government is…
World Bank financializing development
KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Mar 26 2019 (IPS) – The World Bank has successfully legitimized the notion that private finance is the solution to pressing development and welfare concerns, including achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Agenda 2030. A recent McKinsey…
PM opens digital financial service ‘Nagad’
Dhaka, Mar 26 (UNB) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday inaugurated Bangladesh Post Office’s digital financial service, ‘Nagad’, to meet the growing demand of mobile banking among people. At her official residence Ganobhaban in the afternoon, she also released a…
Additional investments, focus on rural dev in Global South
IFAD Vice-President at global conference to call for additional investments and focus on rural development in Global South Buenos Aires, 20 March 2019 – The world needs to harness the power of exchanges between countries in the Global South if…
Green money without inflation
To what extent can the money created by the central bank be used to finance investments in the environment? This is a question often asked today. The green activists respond with enthusiasm that the central bank—and, in particular, the European…
A quarter of eligible countries haven’t accessed Green Fund
Interesting findings surface in the evaluation of Green Fund’s readiness programme Kathmandu/New Delhi, 8 March (Prerna Bomzan and Indrajit Bose) – At the 22nd Board meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) held in Songdo, South Korea from 26-28 February,…
Bangladesh needs to invest more to ensure quality education: WB
Dhaka, Feb 27 (UNB) – Bangladesh needs to invest more in education to improve its quality and do it more effectively to address its learning crisis, a World Bank report said on Wednesday. Despite Bangladesh’s remarkable success in bringing nearly…
The right investments to address the human capital crisis
By Kristalina Georgieva Washington, DC – For 75 years, the World Bank has been at the forefront of development, helping countries make smart investments to prepare their citizens for the future. It has been particularly focused on the poorest and…
Swedish Krona supported the struggle against apartheid
STOCKHOLM, Feb 11 2019 (IPS) – Between 1982 and 1988 Birgitta Karlström Dorph was on a secret mission in South Africa. “Why didn’t they stop us? Probably they were not aware of the scope of the operation. The money was transferred…
Tk 68 bln Electricity bill in arrears, Bd Parliament told
Dhaka, Feb 11 – The total electricity bill arrears as of October 2018 stood at Tk 6882.95 crore, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told parliament on Monday. Of the arrears, electricity bills amounting to Tk…
UNHCR, WB together to ease Rohingya burden on Bd: Jolie
Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – Noting that it is one of the toughest tasks to feed and manage so many Rohingyas here, visiting UNHCR special envoy and famous Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie on Wednesday said the UN Refugee Agency and…
New EU program of EUR 205mn to strengthen Education in Bd
Dhaka, 5 February – Today, with the launch of the Human Capital Development Programme 2021 (HCDP-21) the European Union confirms its continued commitment to Bangladesh for the development of the country’s Education sector. This EU-funded programme aims to provide improved…
Costs of post-9/11 US wars to 2019: $5.9 trillion
By Neta C. Crawford Nov 2018 –The United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $5.9 trillion on the war on terror through the Fiscal Year 2019, including direct war and war-related spending and obligations for future…
New monetary policy unveiled: Surplus liquidity Tk 793 bn
Central bank set to file case over its heist Wednesday night Dhaka, Jan 30 – Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday unveiled its monetary policy statement (MPS) for the second half (January-June) of the 2018-19 fiscal year. Central bank Governor Fazle Kabir…
$4 bn must to protect 41 mn children from conflict, disaster
Tens of millions of children living through conflict, disaster and other emergencies in dozens of countries urgently need protection, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, in an appeal for $3.9 billion to support its humanitarian work around the world.…
Trump ends govt shutdown sans his border wall money for now
By Emma Ockerman Jan 26, 2019President Donald Trump went on national television, walked out of a meeting with key Congressional leaders, and incessantly tweeted, all to insist he wouldn’t reopen the government until he received $5.7 billion in funding for…
U.S. Shutdown effects ripple to farmers, food banks
From Danielle Nierenberg Greetings from Washington, D.C.! In the United States, this week marks the second missed paycheck for furloughed federal workers. Now on its 34th day, the shutdown’s effects are permeating beyond the lives of federal workers, as farmers,…
Hospital public private partnerships undermine healthcare
However, any government considering healthcare PPPs should be aware of the Australian experience, especially after what has happened with the Northern Beaches Hospital, a PPP between the New South Wales government and Healthscope. The A$600m facility was officially opened with…
Disrupting multilateral climate finance
by Håvard Halland, Justin Yifu Lin Beijing – A recent report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that to avoid the direct consequences of global warming, societies must make social and economic changes on a scale…
US government shutdown set to hit record length
Washington, Jan 12 (AP/UNB) — President Donald Trump says it would be easy for him just to declare a national emergency and find federal money to build a barrier along the southern border, but he’s not going to be so…
A closer look at the World Bank’s sizable China portfolio
China continues to borrow an average of $2 billion a year from the World Bank, making it one of the Bank’s top borrowers—despite being the world’s second-largest economy and itself a major global lender, according to our study released today.
No rise in default loan from now on, says finance minister
New Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday announced that there will be no rise in default loan from now on and it will be reduced gradually.