United News of Bangladesh

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Finance and Planning Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir on Thursday stressed the need for building a robust digital public infrastructure (DPI), expanding social protection and strengthening self-regulation in financial markets to drive Bangladesh’s economic transformation. Speaking as the chief guest at a pre-budget roundtable titled “Digital Accounting and Revenue Mobilization”, jointly organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh and The Financial Express at CA Bhaban in Dhaka, Titumir said the government wants to establish a “humanitarian, democratic welfare state” centred on citizens. He said the government is working to develop a national digital database system under a “One Citizen, One Class, One Digital World” framework to ensure better public service delivery and accountability. Highlighting the government’s ongoing initiatives, the adviser said family cards and farmers’ cards are already being linked with banking services, enabling farmers to access formal financial channels through digital cards. “Bangladeshis are eager for modernization in a uniquely Bangladeshi way, rooted in our own history and traditions,” he said, noting that many successful reforms in the country emerged without foreign technical assistance projects. Titumir also underscored the importance of bringing informal sectors into the formal economy and credited past governments for expanding women’s participation in education and the formal labour market through stipend and employment initiatives. Referring to the country’s economic challenges, he said Bangladesh inherited a “damaged economy” and must now focus on long-term structural reforms, including expanding manufacturing capacity, green growth, electric vehicle production and railway modernization. He said increasing the size of the economy through industrialization and investment is essential for boosting revenue collection and improving spending on education and healthcare. The adviser reiterated the government’s commitment to gradually raising allocations for education and health sectors, saying improvements in human capability and accessibility are vital for building a humane society. On financial governance, Titumir stressed the need for stronger market-based regulation and professional accountability, particularly in auditing, valuation and credit assessment. He warned that excessive regulation creates distortions and argued that self-regulatory professional bodies should play a greater role in ensuring transparency and discipline in the market. Referring to the issue of non-performing loans (NPLs), he questioned how bad assets had been repeatedly certified by professionals and institutions, saying accountability within the system is necessary before introducing new mechanisms like asset management companies. The roundtable was presided over by Shamsul Huq Zahid, editor of The Financial Express, while ICAB President NKA Mobin delivered the welcome address. Among others participating in the discussion were Muhammad Abdul Majid, Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Taskeen Ahmed and Kamran T. Rahman.

A Netrakona court on Thursday placed the madrasha teacher on a three-day remand in connection with a case filed over rape and impregnation of an 11-year old girl. Netrakona Senior Judicial Magistrate Mohsina Islam passed the order when police produced the teacher Aman Ullah Sagor before the court with seven-day remand prayer. Tariqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Madan Police Station and also the investigating officer of the case produced him before the court with seven-day remand prayer at noon. Earlier, the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested Aman Ullah Sagar, 30, founder of Hazrat Fatema Tuz Zohra Women Quawmi Madrasha, from Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh district on Wednesday. Mother of the girl filed a case with Madan Police Station on April 23 in this connection. According to the case statement, the mother took her daughter to a local diagnostic centre seeing her health condition where she came to know about her pregnancy. The girl said the teacher of the madrasha asked her to clean the veranda of the madrasha on October 2. Later, the teacher forcibly took her to an abandoned room and violated her. The teacher also threatened her not to disclosed the matter to anyone. The girl used to live with her grandmother as her mother worked as a domestic help in Sylhet. The incident recently went viral on social media. Meanwhile, in an attempt to evade arrest, the accused teacher went live on Facebook claiming his innocence and alleging that it was a conspiracy.  

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Thursday approved  two separate proposals for purchasing electricity from power plants operated by the North West Power Generation Company Limited(NWPGCL) under revised levelized tariff rates. The approvals came at a meeting of the committee held at the Secretariat with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair. According to officials, the committee approved a proposal from the Power Division for purchasing electricity from the 225 MW Sirajganj Combined Cycle Power Plant (Unit-2) established by NWPGCL. Under the proposal, the revised levelized tariff charge has been fixed at US Cents 4.513 per kilowatt-hour, equivalent to Tk 5.541 per kWh, while another tariff component has been set at US Cents 19.298 per kWh, equivalent to Tk 23.698 per kWh at the current market rate. The committee also approved another proposal for purchasing electricity from the 410 MW Bheramara Combined Cycle Power Plant operated by the same company. For the Bheramara plant, the revised levelized tariff charge has been set at US Cents 3.7869 per kWh, equivalent to Tk 4.6503 per kWh. Another tariff component has been fixed at US Cents 16.8540 per kWh, equivalent to Tk 20.6967 per kWh at the prevailing market rate. Officials said both proposals were placed by the Power Division and the committee recommended them for final approval.      

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved  the draft of  ‘Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2026’ aimed at accelerating offshore oil and gas exploration in the country. The approval came at a meeting of the committee held at the Secretariat with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair. The proposal was placed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, said officials. The draft PSC 2026 is expected to serve as the updated framework for engaging international oil and gas companies in offshore exploration activities in Bangladesh’s maritime areas in the Bay of Bengal. Officials said the revised model contract is intended to make the country’s offshore energy sector more attractive to foreign investors amid growing demand for energy security and domestic resource exploration. At the same meeting, the committee also approved in principle of another proposal related to ensuring uninterrupted power supply across the country. The proposal, submitted by the Power Division, sought inclusion of government-owned power plants, joint venture power projects and imported electricity from India and Nepal, including power from Adani Power Jharkhand, under the subsidy framework. Officials said the move is aimed at maintaining stable electricity supply by facilitating subsidy support for imported and locally generated power amid rising generation and import costs. However, the committee approved the proposal partially after discussion.

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal on Thursday said the Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights and UNICEF will work jointly to ensure the protection of child rights in Bangladesh. “A caucus will be formed comprising the chairpersons of relevant parliamentary standing committees and members of parliament from both the treasury and opposition benches to safeguard children's interests and formulate child-friendly policies,” he said. He made these remarks during a courtesy meeting with a UNICEF delegation led by its Social Policy Manager Hasina Begum at his office at Jatiya Sangsad bhaban. The Deputy Speaker expressed optimism that this caucus would play a pivotal role in parliamentary discussions regarding child rights and in securing increased budget allocations for the sector. Barrister Kayser Kamal highlighted that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is highly sensitive to child rights issues. “The Prime Minister has already issued necessary directives to allow children the opportunity to observe parliamentary sessions from the galleries,” he noted. The UNICEF delegation informed the Deputy Speaker that they have successfully advocated for the inclusion of 10 priority rights for children—including health, education, and protection—in the election manifestos of various political parties. They also lauded the government’s timely measures in addressing the ongoing measles situation. During the meeting, both sides discussed a wide range of issues, including child-friendly policy formulation, increased social protection, budgetary enhancements, and bilateral cooperation.  

A tribunal in Jamalpur on Thursday sentenced three men to death for gang-raping a teenage girl in the district in 2024. Judge of the Jamalpur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-1 Abdur Rahim handed down the punishment. The condemned convicts are Md Shipon, 21, son of Abdus Sobhan, Md Ibrahim, 27, son of Siddique Mollah, and Yusuf Ali, 22, son of Arman Ali of Shildah village in Islampur upazila of the district. The tribunal also fined the convicts Tk 2 lakh each, ordering that the money be given to the rape survivor. According to the prosecution, the girl had developed a relationship with her neighbor Sadik. With a promise to marry her, Sadik took the girl to a jungle adjacent to their house where he violated her on April 19, 2024. As the three convicts appeared there sensing the matter, Sadik fled the scene leaving the girl behind. Later, they violated the girl in turns. When the girl became sick, they abandoned her in front of her house at night. The victim’s father filed a case against four people, including Sadik, with Islampur Police Station over the incident. After examining records and nine witnesses, the tribunal acquitted Sadik as allegation brought against him could not be proved.  

Bangladesh’s primary energy imports rose from 47.7% to 62.5% in four years, exposing its vulnerability to the volatile international fossil fuel market and raising the power generation cost by 83%, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Apart from expensive fossil fuels and depreciation of the Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) against the United States Dollar (USD), large capacity payments from low demand growth significantly influenced the rising power costs, according to ‘Fostering Bangladesh’s energy transition’, it said. Analysing data from FY2020-21to FY2024-25, the report finds that a surge in the average coal price by 290% between FY2020-21 and FY2022-23, along with an expensive oil price for a brief period and a sharp currency depreciation increased Bangladesh’s power generation cost drastically. However, despite 59.7% fall in coal prices as compared to FY2022-23, and oil prices remaining low during the time, generation cost did not reduce in FY2024-25. “The average capacity payments of approximately BDT9.5/Kilowatt hour (kWh) (USD0.077/kWh) and BDT5.9/kWh (USD0.048/kWh) paid to private oil- and coal-fired plants, respectively, in FY2024-25 raised overall generation costs,” said Shafiqul Alam, the report’s author and lead energy analyst at IEEFA. “Further, gas supply shortage increased cost—plants with load factor under 25% generated power at BDT16.85/kWh (USD0.137/kWh) while plants operating at around 75% load factor did so at a cost of BDT6/kWh (USD0.049/kWh).” In addition, declining domestic gas production means that Bangladesh needs to import expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG). The report estimates that the country could pay a subsidy of USD1.07 billion (BDT131.34 billion) on account of LNG imports from April to June 2026. This estimate is based on the import trend from April to June 2025 and the current import price of about USD20 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), excluding regasification and terminal costs. Additionally, the share of renewable energy remains just 2.3% of grid-based power generation, far below the global average of around 33.8%, limiting its ability to hedge against the volatile prices in international fossil fuel markets. Currently, however, high import duties are levied on distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems. The report estimates that a combined rooftop solar capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) will save more than 30 times the one-off import duties by reducing furnace oil imports over the lifecycle. Hence, it calls on the government to offer a duty waiver. “The solutions to Bangladesh’s persistent problems lie closer to home, such as in expanding domestic renewable energy at scale while limiting fossil fuel-based plants to contain overcapacity. Given the requirement of spinning reserve and grid balancing, the government may consider retaining part of the operational oil-fired plants in its ownership to avoid the hefty capacity payments once their contracts expire,” said Alam. To reduce its gas demand, Bangladesh could tap into the cost-competitive hydropower potential of the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) framework. A combined hydropower capacity of 6,000MW from Nepal and Bhutan for the high-demand March-September period will likely help the country reduce annual gas consumption by up to 257 billion cubic feet (Bcf) post 2030. The report also seeks to draw policymakers’ attention towards the need to keep the open access cost of renewable energy projects under Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) at a minimum. This would enable the apparel sector and corporates to decarbonise their operations as part of their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets. While power utilities fear loss of revenue due to such projects under the CPPA, the analysis by IEEFA shows that electricity consumption in industries increased by 4.8% in FY2024-25. “BPDB recorded revenue shortfalls of BDT556.6 billion (USD4.53 billion) in FY2024-25. The West Asia conflict will likely add to the financial stress of other key energy sector utilities. Ultimately, the pathway to energy transition hinges on prudent policy decisions about implementing realistic targets on the ground supported by a favourable ecosystem, thereby minimising the country’s continued reliance on imported fossil fuels and high subsidies,” said Alam.    

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam on Thursday said Bogura will be transformed into one of the country’s major aviation hubs by utilising the vast potential of the northern region. The minister made the remarks while vising the Bogura airport. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat and State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam were present during the visit. State Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat said the government has taken plans to construct an international-standard airport in Bogura along with a 10,500-foot runway to facilitate the landing of both domestic and international aircraft. The government has also undertaken initiatives to expand Bogura Airport by establishing a pilot training academy and cargo facilities with a view to opening new opportunities in communication, trade and the aviation sector in the northern region.    

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has intensified security and surveillance along Benapole border in Jashore amid concerns over possible push-ins following the situation surrounding the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election in India. Since Thursday morning, strict security measures have been enforced across nearly 102 kilometers of border areas under the jurisdiction of Jessore-49 BGB and Khulna-21 BGB. Commanding Officer of  Jessore-49 BGB Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Golam Mohammad Saiful Alam Khan, said the force remains on high alert to prevent all forms of intrusion and cross-border crimes. Additional BGB members have been deployed at several border points in Benapole including Raghunathpur, Shikarpur, Sadipur, Ghiba, Putkhali, Goga, Daulatpur and Rudrapur. Patrol and round-the-clock monitoring have also been intensified in those areas. Authorities have also warned people against unnecessary movement near border areas, particularly at night. “Strict surveillance is being maintained along the border to ensure that no intruders can enter Bangladesh from India. Additional patrol measures have also been strengthened,” said Colonel Golam Mohammad. Sources said security was tightened considering the situation in West Bengal following the elections.      

What was meant to restore order in the bustling commercial hub of Gulistan in Dhaka has instead turned into another layer of urban chaos. Following the eviction of street vendors, authorities marked designated sitting spots with white paint to bring discipline to the sidewalks.