Uber on Thursday announced the appointment of Prabhjeet Singh as President Uber India and South Asia, tasked with overseeing the next phase of growth in the company’s  mobility business and ensuring safety for riders and drivers across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

His appointment is effective immediately.

While making the announcement Pradeep Parameswaran, Regional General Manager for Asia Pacific, said, “I’m delighted to announce that Prabh is  replacing me as Uber’s new President for India and South Asia, one of our fastest growing and most strategic markets."

"Prabh is a passionate and innovative leader and has been instrumental in helping build Uber from the ground up and established our category leadership in the ride-sharing market. I’m confident Prabh will exceed our expectations by leading Uber India SA on to the path of profitability, further consolidate our partnership with public transport authorities, continue our growth trajectory by expanding Auto and Moto to the next batch of cities, and build iconic teams.’’

Commenting on his new appointment Prabhjeet, said, “I’m thrilled to have been given the responsibility of leading Uber in India and South Asia, and look forward to collaborating with exceptional teams and gifted colleagues across the Uber family to strengthen our services and product offerings."

"Uber is an integral part of the fabric of our cities and as they start moving again, we have prioritized the highest standards of safety, sustainability and service that our riders and drivers expect of us.’’

Prabh, an IIT Kharagpur and IIM-A alum, joined Uber in August 2015 from McKinsey and Co., where he was an Associate Partner. Since, he’s been part of the core team that adapted the global business model to India, launched multiple new cities and led several India-first innovations, including scaling up Auto and Moto categories and building a multi-modal platform, which have both been exported to other emerging markets.

People can now pay all fees of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) through bKash from anywhere anytime and receive the tax tokens to their own addresses. 

A press release said people will get tax tokens to the given addresses several working days after paying BRTA fees through bKash. 

As a result, it has now become easier to get emergency BRTA services safely during the Covid-19 crisis.

The BRTA fees include - issuance and renewal of the driving license, motor vehicle registration, transfer of ownership, digital registration certificate, issuance and renewal of motor vehicle fitness, tax token, and route permit.

To pay the fee, one needs to click on https://www.ipaybrta.cnsbd.com/index/login to open an account on the BRTA service portal. 

Then he or she has to apply for the required service by clicking ipaybrta link or https://bsp.brta.gov.bd/login/. After logging in, the customer will have to select the required service.

Customers need to select bKash gateway and enter a bKash account number in the payment gateway. Payment will be completed with one-time password (OTP) and bKash PIN.

People have to pay 1.5 percent convenience charge for paying BRTA fees through bKash which must be paid at the time of processing the payment. 

After receiving the tax token at own address, customer has to pay 35 taka delivery charge.

Mizanur Rashid, chief commercial officer of bKash, said they’re continuously increasing their efforts to change the scenario of bill payment which requires the customers to stand in long queues. 

“We aspire that the facility of paying fees of emergency services like BRTA and getting tax tokens at home will bring more relief to the customers during this time of the pandemic,” he added. 

Biman Bangladesh Airlines and NovoAir on Wednesday signed a special re-protection agreement for transporting each other’s passengers on domestic routes. 

The agreement was signed at the Balaka Bhaban, the head office of Biman. 

Mohammad Ali Osman Noor, deputy general manager (Pricing & RMS ) of Biman and Mes-bah-ul Islam, head of marketing and sales of NovoAir signed on behalf of their respective organisations.

Mokabbir Hossain, managing director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Mofizur Rahman, managing director of NovoAir and senior officials of both airlines were present.

Under this agreement, both airlines will carry passengers to each other’s domestic destinations in case of flight disruption or delay. 

At the same time, domestic passengers connecting international destinations will also be facilitated under the SRA.

Biman MD Mokabbir Hossain said he is delighted to have entered into such an agreement with NovoAir. 

“I hope passengers of both carriers will be highly benefited by this initiative,” he added. 

Managing Director of NovoAir Mofizur Rahman said they are proud to have entered into such an agreement with the national flag carrier. 

“We hope the passengers will get better service as a result of such mutual cooperation. NovoAir and Biman Bangladesh Airlines will work together in future for the development of the country's aviation sector,” he added. 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has inaugurated its Bauphal sub-branch at Hospital road area in Patuakhali sadar.

Md. Aminur Rahman, executive vice president and head of Barisal Zone of the Bank inaugurated the sub-branch as chief guest on Tuesday, said a press release.

Md. Ibrahim Faruk, chairman, Nazirpur union parishad addressed the program as special guest. 

Presided over by Md. Zahirul Islam, senior vice president and head of Patuakhali Branch, Md. Moniruzzaman, in-charge of the sub-branch thanked the audience.

Businesspersons, Professionals and social elites were present in the occasion.

Uber on Tuesday  announced that it has enlisted 5000 vehicles on its platform to provide convenient and affordable transportation for riders, along with creating livelihood opportunities for its drivers, after a lengthy lockdown.

Uber’s enlistment drive follows a BRTA order which stipulated that ridesharing could only resume with enlisted vehicles. To comply with the directive, Uber has been raising awareness amongst the driver community to apply for enlistment certificates and also facilitating the application process on the BRTA portal, said a press release.

Uber resumed operations in Dhaka on 22nd June with its affordable UberX service and just this week has restarted services across its Premier and Intercity categories.

Ratul Ghosh, Head of Bangladesh and East India, Uber, said, “As our cities start to open, we want to ensure safe and convenient transport to Move Bangladesh Forward and help our communities on the path to recovery. We remain committed to working with authorities to facilitate the enlistment process for our drivers so that they can start earning a livelihood on our platform as soon as possible and are confident that our ridesharing services are best placed to provide the highest standards of safety and hygiene for riders and drivers in the new normal.”

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Uber has launched multiple new services for supporting the needs of its riders, which have also created earning opportunities for drivers. These include Uber Connect, the package delivery service, which enables customers to transport packages from the safety of their homes and Uber Rentals, which allows riders to book affordable multi-hour, multi-stop options to travel in the ‘new normal.’

Over the past two weeks, Uber has also launched a comprehensive set of safety measures including an interactive Go Online Checklist for both riders and drivers, a mandatory mask policy for riders and drivers, industry first pre-trip mask verification selfies for drivers, an updated post-trip feedback mechanism and a cancellation policy.