Parliament
Onion being rotten in some places but not going to market: PM
Sangsad Bhaban, Nov 14 (UNB) – As the onion price has hit all-time high of Tk 200 per kg, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said there is enough stock of onions but those are not being released to the market.
Raushon wants anti-graft drive to continue
Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushon Ershad on Thursday said the drive against corruption should continue sparing nobody mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s strong commitment will help combat graft in the country.
JS passes BITAC Bill to create skilled manpower
Parliament on Thursday passed the Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (BITAC) Bill 2019 aiming to create skilled manpower through technical training and bring the BITAC under a strong legal framework.
Motion adopted in JS declaring ‘planetary emergency’
The Jatiya Sangsad on Wednesday unanimously adopted a historic motion declaring a planetary emergency on account of the existential crisis of climate change and calling on the global community to act urgently and decisively in achieving the net zero (carbon) emissions well before 2050.
Will remain alert to prevent train accident in future: Minister
Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on Wednesday said officials of the Railways Ministry and Bangladesh Railway will remain alert to prevent the recurrence of train accident in the future.
Embattled Ranga offers unconditional apology
Opposition Chief Whip Mashiur Rahman Ranga on Wednesday extended unconditional apology for making derogatory remarks on slain pro-democracy activist Noor Hossain.
Ranga offered the apology as he stood in the House to make his personal statement under section 274 of the rules of procedure.
While speaking at a Jatiya Party meeting at its Banani office on November 10, Ranga said Noor Hossain, a young pro-democracy activist who sacrificed his life on November 10, 1987 during the movement to end the autocratic regime of HM Ershad, a Yaba and Phensedyl addict.
The remarks sparked widespread criticisms. Some ruling and opposition MPs also expressed their resentments over the issue in parliament.
Malaysian labour market to reopen soon: Minister
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed on Wednesday said in Parliament that the labour market in Malaysia will reopen soon for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Tariff Commission (Amendment) Bill placed in JS
A bill titled Bangladesh Tariff Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was placed in Parliament on Wednesday to strengthen the commission further and expand its activities.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun in absence of Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi placed the bill and it was sent to the respective scrutiny committee for further examination. The committee was asked to submit its report within 15 days.
There are four major changes in the existing Bangladesh Tariff Commission Act, 1992 to update it as there were some limitations in the existing law.
The Commission was established in 1973 as a government office through a resolution. Later in 1992, the commission through the Bangladesh Tariff Commission Act-1992 was established as a statutory body.
The name of Bangladesh Tariff Commission has been renamed as the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.
The section 7 of the Bangladesh Tariff Commission Act, 1992 has also been changed widening the purview and the scope of activities of the commission.
Besides, some changes have been brought in section 8 of the existing law to ensure the privacy of the employees and staff of the commission.
As per section 12 of the approved act, the commission can hire consultants and research assistants on ad hoc basis in consultation with the government.
No rise in default loans, claims minister
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday claimed that the amount of defaulted loans has not increased in the country compared to that in 1991.
He made the statement while responding to a supplementary question in Parliament.
The minister said the amount of defaulted loans in 1991 was Tk 5,039 crore out of total disbursed amount of Tk 19,278 crore, which is 26.14 percent.
He also mentioned that currently the disbursed loan amount is Tk 962,277 crore while the amount of defaulted loan is Tk 112,425 crore, which is 11.69 percent. “That means the amount of defaulted loans has not increased,” he said.
Mustafa Kamal, however, said there should not be any defaulted loan. “It would have been better if we could bring down the percentage of the defaulted loans to single digit. We’ll take step as far as we can to this end,” he said.
He said some defaulted loans were created due to some system problems. “The interest rate of banks is higher due to the compound rate instead of simple one,” he said.
The minister said the Financial Institutions Division of the Finance Ministry has asked all the scheduled banks to form a monitoring cell to ensure close monitoring on classified loans worth Tk 100 crore and above.
He made the disclosure responding to a question from treasury bench MP Mohibur Rahman Manik.
Mustafa Kamal also said the Bangladesh Bank does not make any direct interference in scheduled banks for market-based interest rate though it is giving some instructions to the banks in different times to set the interest rate of loans at a logical level.
He said the central bank is also monitoring the savings and loan interest rate in every month while it also give moral pressure on the scheduled banks to reduce the loan interest rate.
The minister said the scheduled banks were also asked to open separate Risk Management Unit to handle the possible risks.
Drive to continue until eradication of crimes: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the ongoing drive against casinos and all sorts of corruption, including bribery, will continue until the elimination of crimes from all spheres of the state and society.