Mahbubur Rahman Khan

Although the prices of some daily commodities have decreased, middle- and low-income families are still struggling to make ends meet due to the recent hike in prices of essential grocery items such as eggs, chicken, onions, and potatoes.

Despite an upward trend in the overall catch, year-on-year growth rate of hilsa production has been declining in recent years. The reasons include illegal netting of brood and jatka hilsa, widespread use of banned gillnet and the impact of climate change such as erratic rainfalls.

The drop in the price of rice and flour could not bring relief among low income people as the vegetable price is soaring.

With the consumers already feeling the pinch of the soaring prices of essentials, most of the spices are becoming pricier ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.

The government is set to distribute 10 kilograms of rice to each of the 1.25 crore ultra-poor and destitute families ahead of Eid-ul-Azha to soften the blow of a spiralling inflation.

The government is set to form the National Pension Authority (NPA) to execute the Universal Pension Scheme formulated to provide pension services for the common people.

Although tax returns are a key document for investigating illegal wealth, the Income Tax Bill 2023 proposes making it impossible for Anti-Corruption Commission officials to access a suspect’s tax files without a court order.

The government’s high-ups have talked about their “firm stances” against graft to protect the country’s GDP on multiple occasions. However, there is little reflection of that stance in the latest budget disclosure as to how the government will curb corruption and money laundering.

Investigation officer of the Anti-Corruption Commission has recommended filing a case against Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan and nine others for indulging in irregularities in appointment of two directors.

In the last week of March, marginal poultry farmer Delowar Hossain bought nearly 4,000 one-day-old Sonali chicks from a large poultry company. After rearing them for 40 days, when he tried selling them, he found it shockingly difficult to recover his production cost, let alone make any profit.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the National Board of Revenue not to increase the ordinary people’s tax burden as it looks to improve its revenue collection by 16 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

Ten years have passed since the collapse of Rana Plaza, but for Sabujan, a survivor of the tragedy, the wounds of that fateful day still run deep. Her life, once filled with hope and dreams, has turned into a never-ending struggle. Her story is one of heartbreak, loss, and resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity.

The finance ministry has already finalised the revised budget for this fiscal year and the concerned ministries are informed about it but it will not be made public until June.

Four years ago, the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence declared that the Bangabazar Shopping Complex, one of the biggest clothing markets in the country, was at risk of fire.

Four years ago the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence declared the Bangabazar Shopping Complex a fire risk.

From 2021 to 2022, the seizure of crystal meth increased by three times.

Farhana Nasrin applied for a copy of a khatiyan (land-record document) for a piece of land owned by her through the government’s online portal on May 8 last year, hoping to get a hassle-free service.

An applicant is supposed to get a khatiyan and mouza map in 10 days after submitting the application. In the applicant's dashboard at eporcha.gov.bd, it is seen that Nasrin was supposed to get her khatiyan on May 18, 2022 but her application was still on the waiting list.

There are at least three laws and as many government bodies to protect the consumers from price manipulation, but it goes on unabated due to lax enforcement of the laws and a lack of coordination among the government organisations, say commodity experts.

Taking Tk 300 from her rickshaw-puller husband, Moni Begum went to Mirpur-11 kitchen market in the capital yesterday in the hope of buying some good food for her three children to eat on the first day of Ramadan.