Selim Raihan

Urban poverty has seen a rise between the pre-Covid time and now, serving a debilitating blow to the food security of urban populace.

Despite moderate performance in several SDGs, Bangladesh faces major challenges in actually achieving them.

To overcome the economic crisis, no doubt, the country needs strong economic leadership, backed by strong political will.

Bangladesh is now in the depths of both economic and political crises.

There are some big concerns we must address given the possibility of the political tension permeating our economic domain.

The soaring food prices, coupled with falling real income, pose a serious challenge for the poor in terms of accessing adequate and nutritious food.

Inflation in Bangladesh has reached its highest level in a decade and has been a persistent problem for more than 18 months, starting from early last year.

Bangladesh’s progress towards switching to renewable energy has remained slow and uncertain.

Bangladesh has strong economic aspirations to become part of a forum like BRICS.

The key question, however, remains: to what extent have our current economic challenges been addressed by the new budget? It hasn't done proper justice to answer this question.

We should have focused on addressing the macro-fundamentals, which would create a launching pad for the coming year’s fiscal flow.

Addressing the inflationary pressure and the resulting food insecurity of the poorer households need to be the top priority now.

Bangladesh’s economic growth performance has been encouraging, but questions remain regarding the drivers and quality of said growth.

A more comprehensive analysis is needed to gather a complete picture of the hundi business.

One of his finest strengths was his ability to communicate at all levels. He could comfortably address a roomful of diplomats, academics and policymakers, and not miss a beat when speaking to them about his dreams. He could mix with ordinary people from all walks of life, speak in their local dialects, and relate to their problems just as easily.

Dealing with these two major challenges is essential for macroeconomic stability

The volatility of commodity prices in both global and local markets has put ordinary people in Bangladesh in an uncertain situation.

We need a strategy to deal with youth unemployment and improve women's inclusion into the economy

Since it boosts individual productivity and produces a trained labour force, education is seen as a crucial road to economic progress.

Despite the macroeconomic success, Bangladesh faces several long-standing challenges.