Underperformance by several vital sectors dragged to a four-year low the utilisation rate of development budget in the past fiscal year, sources said, attributing the slowdown to incompetence. The Annual Development Programme (ADP) implementation in the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 was lowest in four years to 80.92 per cent of the even pared-down budget, officials said Tuesday, as a reckoning began under the interim administration. Even after a downward revision of the ADP in March, in view of a slow going, government ministries and agencies during the July 2023-June 2024 period utilised hardly 80.92 per cent of the Tk 2.54-trillion revised outlay--4.25-percentage-point lower than the level in the previous FY2023, official data showed.

Finance and Planning Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday urged government officials to expedite the completion of ongoing development projects, stressing their critical impact on the country’s economy and its people. “We have talked about the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and its implementation. Regarding the allocation of funds for the ongoing mega projects, he said that he has instructed to place the matters to the appropriate authority. “We will review these accordingly,” he said, adding that wasteful spending must be curtailed, whether it be administrative costs or other expenses.

Uncertainty has been looming over resuming metro rail operations a month after the suspension of its services as the state owned metro rail company is unable to convince its aggrieved employees to join work ending the strike they started following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Although the work absentia by employees of grade 10 to 20 is related to their difference in salaries and facilities compared to other grades in the government, sources said the strike is the result of the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) operating without service rules for its employees.

সোশ্যাল ইসলামী ব্যাংক পিএলসির বিজনেস পারফরম্যান্স রিভিউ মিটিং সম্প্রতি প্রধান কার্যালয়ে অনুষ্ঠিত হয়েছে। এতে প্রধান অতিথি ছিলেন ব্যাংকের এমডি ও প্রধান নির্বাহী জাফর আলম। সভায় ডিএমডি মুহাম্মদ ফোরকানুল্লাহ, আবদুল হান্নান খান, মোহাম্মদ হাবীবুর রহমান এবং মোহাম্মদ খোরশেদ আলমসহ প্রধান কার্যালয়ের বিভাগীয় প্রধান ও ঊর্ধ্বতন নির্বাহীরা উপস্থিত ছিলেন। সভায় আঞ্চলিক প্রধান, শাখা ব্যবস্থাপক, অপারেশন ম্যানেজার, ইনভেস্টমেন্ট ইনচার্জ, জিবি ইনচার্জ ও ফরেন ট্রেড ইনচার্জরা ভার্চুয়ালি যুক্ত ছিলেন।

Bangladesh Bank has sent out a directive to all banks not to clear cheques of more than Tk 10 million issued by nine banks. The nine banks are Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, National Bank, Padma Bank and ICB Islami Bank. The central bank gave a verbal order to the commercial banks in this regard on Tuesday. Managing directors and deputy managing directors at several banks confirmed this to bdnews24.com. They said they would be following the directive starting from Wednesday morning.

Dhaka ranked fifth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality on Wednesday morning. Its air quality is in the AQI "unhealthy for sensitive group" zone with an air quality index (AQI) score of 133 at 8:50am.An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered "unhealthy", particularly for sensitive groups. Indonesia's Jakarta, Democratic Republic of the Congo's Kinshasa and Pakistan's Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 173,157 and 155, respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups", between 150 and 200 is "unhealthy", between 201 and 300 is said to be "very unhealthy", while a reading of 301+ is considered "hazardous", posing serious health risks to residents

চলমান পরিস্থিতিতে দেশের শিল্প-কারখানা ও ব্যবসাপ্রতিষ্ঠানের নিরাপত্তা জোরদারে আইন-শৃঙ্খলা রক্ষাকারী বাহিনীর সহযোগিতা চেয়েছে দ্য ফেডারেশন অব বাংলাদেশ চেম্বার্স অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি (এফবিসিসিআই)। গতকাল বাণিজ্য সংগঠনটির গুলশান কার্যালয়ে অনুষ্ঠিত সমন্বয় সভায় এ আহ্বান জানান এফবিসিসিআই সভাপতি মাহবুবুল আলম। এ সময় সেনাবাহিনীর নবম পদাতিক ডিভিশনের জেনারেল অফিসার কমান্ডিং (জিওসি) ও এরিয়া কমান্ডার (সাভার) মেজর জেনারেল মো. মঈন খান এবং বিভিন্ন চেম্বার ও অ্যাসোসিয়েশনের ব্যবসায়ী নেতারা উপস্থিত ছিলেন। এফবিসিসিআই সভাপতি মাহবুবুল আলম বলেন, ‘‌ব্যবসাপ্রতিষ্ঠান ও শিল্পের নিরাপত্তা নিশ্চিত করা গেলে অর্থনীতি তার গতিশীলতা ফিরে পাবে। এ লক্ষ্যে সেনাবাহিনী যেসব পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণ করেছে, তাতে ব্যবসায়ী সমাজ আশান্বিত।

The good news is that global youth unemployment rate, according to the International Labour Organisation's report, "Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (GET for Youth) dropped to 13 per cent in 2023 from 13.8 per cent in the pre-pandemic year 2019. But the bad news is that the 15.1 per cent unemployment rate in South Asia is higher than the global average notwithstanding the fact that it has registered the lowest unemployment among young population in the sub-region in 15 years. Although the 12th edition of the GET for Youth focuses on regional and sub-regional youth employment trend, not on specific countries, another report puts Bangladesh's youth unemployment at 15.74 per cent which is also higher than South Asian average. But still the ILO report has positive projection for the sub-region. It expects the 15.1 per cent youth unemployment in the sub-region to fall further to 14.9 per cent in 2025

Eminent businessmen have self-criticized their activities in the last 15 years. Admitting their guilt, some businessmen also vowed to remain as businessmen instead of political workers in the future. They welcomed this uprising of the students.

Half a dozen chairman and managing directors (MDs) of state-run power and energy companies, who have been appointed on contract, are likely to lose jobs due to their alleged involvement in backing 'unethical' practices of the immediate past government. A decision has already been taken recently to remove them from the companies under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR), a senior official at the MoPEMR told the FE Tuesday, preferring anonymity. An official announcement in this regard is set to come soon.

Ensuring good governance in the country's capital market is the first priority of newly-appointed Chairman of the securities regulator Dr. M Masrur Reaz. "The revolution done by the youths paved the way for ensuring good governance in the market," said Mr Reaz in a telephonic interview with The FE immediately after his appointment on Tuesday as the chief of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for a four-year term. He said he would eliminate corrupt practices of market stakeholders and improve the depth of the capital market through reforms and listing of good companies. Product diversification is also on the agenda of the new chief of the BSEC, which would help investors reduce investment risks.

The presence of microplastics was found in all salt and sugar samples in a study conducted by the India-based environmental research organisation Toxics Link. The study, titled ‘Microplastics in Salt and Sugar’, tested 10 types of salt -- including table salt, rock salt, sea salt and local raw salt -- and five types of sugar purchased from both online and local markets. Microplastics were found in all salt and sugar samples, in various forms, including fibre, pellets, films and fragments. The size of these microplastics ranged from 0.1 mm to 5 mm, according to the study published on Tuesday.

Facing pressure from the Bangladesh Bank, the National Bank was forced to waive Tk2,310 crore in interest on loans to S Alam Group, a conglomerate closely tied to the ousted Hasina government and various affiliated companies. As a result, the Chattogram-based business group, known for its irregularities in the country's banking sector, managed to escape its loan burden by paying less than half the total loan amount and interest to the private sector lender. Eight companies of S Alam Group took 13 loans from National Bank at different times and for varying tenures. By the end of December 2021, the balance of these loans stood at Tk4,619 crore.

The Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee has made a proposal to hold the postponed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations from 11 September. Confirming the matter to BSS, head of the Inter-Education Board Coordinating Committee and chairman of Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board Professor Tapan Kumar Sarkar said that considering the situation of the students, a proposal in this regard has been sent to the interim government this evening seeking the government's opinion.

The Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) has requested the Bangladesh Bank for an extension of six months for the repayment of term loans, citing the current economic challenges as the primary reason for their request.However, several members of the association opposed the request The association of private bank owners and directors sent a letter to the central bank on 31 July in this regard. The letter, signed by BAB Chairman Md Nazrul Islam Mazumder, was addressed to the then-governor of Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder, who recently resigned following the change in government.

এখন থেকে মূল্যস্ফীতি এবং মোট দেশজ উৎপাদন বা জিডিপির প্রকৃত তথ্য-উপাত্ত প্রকাশ করা হবে বলে জানিয়েছেন অর্থ ও পরিকল্পনা উপদেষ্টা ড. সালেহউদ্দিন আহমেদ। গতকাল রাজধানীর এনইসি সম্মেলন কক্ষে পরিকল্পনা মন্ত্রণালয় ও কমিশনের ঊর্ধ্বতন কর্মকর্তাদের সঙ্গে বৈঠক করেন অন্তর্বর্তী সরকারের এ উপদেষ্টা। সভা শেষে গণমাধ্যমকর্মীদের বিভিন্ন প্রশ্নের উত্তরে এ কথা বলেন তিনি। ড. সালেহউদ্দিন আহমেদ বলেন, ‘জুলাইয়ে খাদ্য মূল্যস্ফীতি ১৪ শতাংশের ওপরে উঠে গেছে—এটা অস্বীকার করে লাভ নেই। আমি মনে করি, যথাযথ নীতি প্রণয়নে প্রকৃত তথ্য-উপাত্ত দরকার।’ তিনি বলেন, ‘অর্থনৈতিক নানান সূচকে তথ্যের গরমিল এখন থেকে আর হবে না। পরিসংখ্যান ব্যুরো যাতে আরো সঠিকভাবে কাজ করতে পারে, সেদিকে নজর দিতে হবে।’