Sukanta Halder

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra) has finalised a draft of the Insurance Resolution Ordinance 2025, which would grant the regulator sweeping powers to declare financially troubled insurers bankrupt.

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has drawn criticism from the government-appointed Labour Reform Commission, which had earlier called for formal recognition of workers and stronger financial and legal safeguards.

Poor preservation, unfair pricing and failure to meet global standards cripple rawhide trade

Bangladesh’s food processing sector, which was worth $8 billion last year, is growing at an average rate of 8 percent a year, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Mango prices are rising following a recent slump that had resulted in losses for many traders.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra) has appointed audit firms to carry out special audits of 15 life insurance companies for the 2022-2024 period to uncover possible irregularities as claim settlements continued to mount.

The interim government has planned to nearly double its public food storage capacity to 37 lakh tonnes in the next fiscal year.

The government has taken the initiative to amend the insurance law, aiming to give the regulator greater authority to dissolve and restructure the boards of insurers, limit family ownership concentration, and impose hefty fines for breaking the rules.

Bangladesh's delicious mangoes: untapped economic potential, requiring a national strategy

Sales of cattle, as reflected in the number of animals sacrificed during this Eid-ul-Azha, declined this year amid an economic slowdown and political uncertainty in the country, said dairy producers and stakeholders yesterday.

Rawhide prices during Eid-ul-Azha have once again dropped below government-set rates across the country, frustrating traders and raising concerns about the effectiveness of recent policy steps, including the temporary lifting of the export ban on raw and wet blue leather.

Prices of most spices have dropped in Dhaka’s kitchen markets ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, giving some relief to consumers, but rising vegetable prices are putting extra pressure on fixed middle-income people.

The government has proposed a 3.55 percent rise in the budget allocation for agriculture, food, livestock and fisheries in the next fiscal year, setting aside Tk 39,620 crore.

The government has introduced stricter regulations on the import of gold bars and ornaments under newly updated baggage rules while offering some leniency in other areas.

The government has proposed a 3.55 percent rise in the budget allocation for agriculture, food, livestock and fisheries in the next fiscal year, setting aside Tk 39,620 crore..But agro-economists say the increase is far from sufficient to ensure the country’s long-term food security..<p

Hotels, motels and resorts at popular tourist destinations across the country are almost fully booked during the ten-day Eid-ul-Azha holidays, which begin in the first week of June.

The liquidity crisis in the sector worsened significantly in 2024, with only 57 percent of insurance claims being settled,

The interim government is likely to impose a 10 percent supplementary duty on over-the-top (OTT) platform services in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 — a move that is expected to raise consumer costs and increase spending on paid streaming services.

Bangladesh’s agriculture sector recorded its weakest growth in over a decade this fiscal year, prompting fresh concerns about food security, rural incomes and overall economic recovery.

About 69 percent of low-income people view the value-added tax (VAT) on essential items as excessive, according to a survey, with most seeing it as a significant financial burden.