Md Golam Sarwar has been made secretary of the Law and Justice Division under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. The Law Ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Wednesday.  He had been performing as the acting secretary of the Law and Justice Division since August 8, 2019. Golam Sarwar joined the judicial cadre service through the 10th BCS examination. He started his career at Dhaka district judge court as an apprentice assistant judge on December 11, 1991. Also read: PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim gets another 2-year extension 

Taking a swipe at those who campaign that Bangladesh would face the crisis like Sri Lanka, Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus on Tuesday said the comparison is very unfortunate. "There is nothing more unfortunate than comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka today. Bangladesh is far better than Sri Lanka. Nothing can be more shameful than comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka,” he said. The principal secretary made this remark at a press briefing on the current economic situation of Bangladesh at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday afternoon. Raising different data and statistics over the situation of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, he said the Awami League government, especially Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken every step judiciously following thorough assessment. Kaikaus said the prime minister on Tuesday spent three hours reviewing the situation of Bangladesh compared with Sri Lanka. “She (PM) analyzed every data,” he said. The premier witnessed a presentation over offshore tax amnesty and macroeconomic review of Bangladesh in the backdrop of the Sri Lankan economic crisis.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday accused the government of giving false statistics to people about the country's foreign exchange reserves and per capita income. "Those who’re now ruling the country are resorting to lies and deception. They’re talking about $46 billion reserves. But the IMF says it has actually inflated by 15 percent. Fake statistics have been given,” he said. Speaking at a programme of Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, Fakhrul said the government has overstated the foreign exchange reserves by around $7 billion. The event was held at the chairperson's office in Gulshan on the occasion of launching the Krishak Dal’s member recruitment programme. Three field-level farmers received the membership of Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal from the hands of Fakhrul by filling its form. The BNP leader said the government is also talking about increasing per capita income. “If it happened, why did our brother Shafiuddin commit suicide?...in every case, those who usurped power using state machinery always lie." READ: AL destroyed Language Movement spirit: BNP He said the government used to talk about production and development. “It seems that they’re covering everything with gold in Bangladesh. But we saw media reports yesterday (Tuesday) that Bangladesh still has to import 67 lakh metric tonnes of food. It has proved that the government’s claim of attaining food autarky is nothing but trickery.” Fakhrul said it is the character of the Awami League to create a sensation by resorting to lies and misleading people. Criticising the government, he said the government has thrown the farmers into extreme problems by increasing the prices of fertiliser and other agri-inputs. “Do you remember that they (govt) had said they would give you rice at Tk10 per kg? Did they do it?  The price of per kg rice is now Tk60-70.” He said the government had also promised to provide farmers with fertilizer free of cost. “The price of fertilizer is now three-four times higher.” Fakhrul said people are going through serious ordeals because of the unusual price hike of all the commodities. "The price of everything has gone up 10-15 times. The tariffs of gas, water and electricity have also been raised. People are now angry as they’re in a miserable situation. People want to get out of this situation.” Stating their party will soon declare programmes to intensify the anti-government movement, he urged the Krishak Dal leaders to involve the farmers with the movement to make it a success.

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla called on the visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss ways on bolstering bilateral ties in several areas. "Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla called on the visiting Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. G. L. Peiris. Discussed strengthening of the relationship in multiple spheres including a people-centric development partnership," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted after the one-to-one meeting. READ: 7 Indian soldiers found dead near China border On Monday, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar held talks with Peiris in the national capital. Officials said that the two Ministers discussed investment initiatives and tourism opportunities to boost Sri Lanka's economy, as well as steps needed to enhance the island nation's energy security. Peiris's three-day visit to India comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's US dollars 500 million financial assistance to the island nation. READ: Indian scientists claim to have designed vaccine against all variants of coronavirus Separated by the Palk Strait, India and Sri Lanka occupy a strategic position in South Asia and have always sought to build a common security umbrella in the Indian Ocean. The two countries are also close on economic terms, with India being the island's largest trading partner though Sri Lanka is said to have moved closer to China in recent years.

Two secretary-level officials and an additional secretary have been transferred to new postings, according to a notification of the public administration ministry  on Monday. According to the notification, Mohammad Mashiur Rahman, ndc, chairman of Land Appeal Board has been appointed as the secretary of Rural Development and Cooperatives ministry while Ehsan E Elahi, chairman of Land Reform Board has been made the secretary of Labour and Employment ministry. Dr. Nahid Rashid, additional secretary of Economic Relation Division has been made the Director General of Bangladesh Employees Welfare Board.

Power Secretary Dr Sultan Ahmed on Sunday said that extension of time for allowing delayed payment of electricity bills without surcharge is now under consideration.   He made the disclosure while briefing reporters through a videoconference about the outcome of the investigation into issuing inflated electricity bills by different power distribution companies.   Earlier, the household electricity consumers were allowed to pay their delayed bills of February, March and April until June 30 due to coronavirus outbreak to avoid social contacts.   In the meantime, many consumers received inflated bills and refrained from paying those within their due times hoping that those would be corrected by the bill issuing authority. But still may consumers’ bills were either not corrected or were under the correction process.           Responding to a question on such dilemma, the power secretary said that the issue was discussed with positive outlook with Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).   “We’re trying to extend the time for delayed payment without surcharge. But we have to follow cerrtain process for it,” he told reporters.   He, however, said there no decision as yet on allowing any delayed bill payment without surcharge for commercial and industrial consumers.

Six officials of the BCS (Admin) cadre have so far tested positive for coronavirus, says Public Administration Secretary Sheikh Yusuf Harun.

Three months after they were made acting chief and acting deputy chief of the organisation, Al-Nahean Khan Joy and Lekhak Bhattacharjee have been made president and general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) respectively.