New Pay Scale: Basic pay rise to cost Tk 37,372cr
21 September 2026
The implementation of the new pay scale’s basic salary in two phases will cost the government Tk 37,372 crore, covering civil, defence services and judicial personnel, alongside pensioners, according to a preliminary estimate of the finance division.
21 September 2026
New pay scale: House rent payouts rise despite lower rates
20 September 2026
Housing allowance, the second-largest component of gross salary, has been reduced as a percentage of basic pay under the new public sector pay scale.
20 September 2026
A mega project largely deserted
19 September 2026
Tk 15,691cr spent, but Payra Port activities far below its commercial potential
19 September 2026
Spouse to get pension until 80 after death of pensioner
18 September 2026
The National Pension Authority (NPA) yesterday decided to extend the age limit for a spouse to receive a pension after the pensioner’s death to 80 years from 75 and introduce an Islamic version of the Universal Pension Scheme.
18 September 2026
Three metro projects get go-ahead, costing Tk 2.5 lakh crore
17 September 2026
The government yesterday approved the construction of three metro rail lines for Dhaka at an estimated cost of nearly Tk 2.5 lakh crore.
17 September 2026
Bogura-Sirajganj rail line / 8 years on, project costs to jump 89%
16 September 2026
The estimated cost of the direct dual-gauge railway line project connecting Bogura and Sirajganj has jumped nearly 89 percent to Tk 10,391 crore, with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) set to fund 71 percent of the total project costs.
16 September 2026
Cost of MRT-1, 5 trimmed to Tk 2.04 lakh crore
15 September 2026
The revised estimated cost of the Japan-funded Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-1 and Line-5 projects has been set at Tk 2,03,800 crore, down 4.75 percent from an earlier proposal.
15 September 2026
N’ganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route: Electric trains on the cards
14 September 2026
The government is set to introduce electric trains for the first time in Bangladesh on the 52km Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur route.
14 September 2026
Inflation, forex pressure: Govt moves to rein them in
The government has ramped up its measures to contain the pressure on foreign currency reserves and inflation, drafting an action plan to discourage non-essential imports and bring relief to the poor and the vulnerable from the spiralling cost of living.
25 May 2022
Cleaning black money loses steam
Black money holders appear to have lost the appetite to legalise their undisclosed wealth if the tax collected from this source in the first nine months of the fiscal year is any indication.
22 May 2022
Bank borrowing may hamper recovery
When thinking outside the box was needed, the government opted for the tried-and-tested method.
22 May 2022
Hopeless revenue target: No major tax hike planned
Wishy-washy -- is what best describes the government’s stance on scaling up its narrow revenue base, which is posing to become the Achilles’ heel to Bangladesh’s growth aspirations.
20 May 2022
Govt faces higher import costs for fertiliser
The country will have to import fertiliser at higher prices from the international market in the wake of the global price hike due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
19 May 2022
Level-headed development targets
Pragmatism was the order of the day when the finance division sat down to draft the development budget for fiscal 2021-22.
16 May 2022
Record subsidy, but will it be enough?
Strange times are these in which we live when record subsidy allocation may still come short of what is needed.
14 May 2022
Forex reserves under strain: Govt defers employees' foreign tours, less important projects
The government finally raised its guard against the dwindling dollar reserves, putting its employees’ foreign tours on hold and deferring projects that require much imports.
12 May 2022
Economy firing on all cylinders
There are bright sparks in all corners of the economy, according to the provisional GDP figures for fiscal 2021-22, which do not show a hint of a pandemic hangover when others are still plodding along.
10 May 2022
Budget FY 2022-23: Tackling challenges of inflation and Covid losses
It appears normal service will resume with fiscal 2022-23’s budget, which will see the return of double-digit growth in size -- a practice introduced by former finance minister AMA Muhith.
8 May 2022
Revised Budget FY 21-22: No room for downsizing
Every year, the budget gets bigger, and like clockwork, gets revised down -- much. But not this year.
7 May 2022
Tribute to Muhith: Farewell to architect of our economy’s golden era
When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina defiantly announced in 2012 that the Padma bridge would be built after the World Bank pulled out of the project, her gumption was not irrational.
30 April 2022
Dutch horticulture exhibit: 100 officials going abroad, austerity out the window
At least 100 agriculture ministry officials will participate in phases in a six-month international horticulture exhibition in the Netherlands, even though the government had asked to abandon all routine tours except those involving emergencies.
27 April 2022
BB to give Lanka another year to repay $200m
Bangladesh Bank is set to give Sri Lanka another year to repay the $200 million loan as it looks to lend a helping hand to the island nation, which is going through its worst debt and economic crises.
25 April 2022
China firm to implement Tk 3,975cr digital connectivity project
A Chinese company is set to implement a Tk 3,975 crore digital connectivity project that will equip Bangladesh with the latest ICT infrastructure, digitise government services and increase ICT usage at the field level.
20 April 2022
IMF cuts Bangladesh's GDP growth forecasts to 6.4%
The International Monetary Fund has revised down its economic growth projection for Bangladesh to 6.4 percent for the current fiscal year largely because of Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions.
19 April 2022
Inflation sprints to 17-month high
Inflation in Bangladesh rocketed to a 17-month high in March driven by higher food costs as global uncertainties stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions show no sign of abating, official figures showed yesterday.
19 April 2022
Covid response funds: Only 15pc utilised in 2 years
Over the last two years, the government has been able to utilise only around 15 percent of Tk 8,150 crore allocated for two Covid-19 emergency response projects.
18 April 2022
Next budget size to be Tk 6,77,874cr; Govt advised on macroeconomic pressures from Russia-Ukraine war
The Finance Division has recommended that the government avoid hard-term loans and discourage import of luxury goods to cope with macroeconomic pressures arising from the Russia-Ukraine war.
17 April 2022
7.5% GDP growth target set for fiscal 2023
The government has set an ambitious economic growth target of 7.5 per cent for the next fiscal year although the country faces new headwinds owing to higher prices of commodities globally and is still recovering from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
17 April 2022