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BangladeshPositive |
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A positive news portal and archive on Bangladesh |
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News | Bangladesh | Articles | Investment Policy | IT Policy | Tourist attractions | Feedback | Archive |
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Year: 2008
Year: 2007 since Sept. |
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July, '08 In last fiscal year (July, 2007-June, 2008), which ended last month, the per capital income in Bangladesh, by Atlas method, reached at US$ 599. We may hope in a couple of years Bangladesh will become a middle income country. As we know, a country becomes a middle income country when its per capita income reaches at US$ 750.
In June a Japanese company has ordered for ten ships to be built by a Bangladeshi shipbuilder. This is the first time the country has won a Japanese contract, which underlines the increasing global acceptance of Bangladesh as an emerging shipbuilding nation. We hope, soon shipbuilding in the country will emerge as a multi-billion dollar industry.
The crude oil price is increasing day by day in the world market. No body can predict where and when this price hike of oil will stop. The high price of oil will be effecting the economy of Bangladesh. The good news is that, a recent UNDP-Bangladesh report titled "Sustainable Energy Development in Bangladesh -- Coal as an alternative energy resource" says Bangladesh has the estimated resources of 2.5 billion tons of coal which are equivalent to 65 trillion cubic feet of gas. These reserves can assure energy security for the country in the medium and long-term.
In last fiscal year the GDP growth rate in Bangladesh as 6.21%. The country has been able to maintain above 6 per cent growth rate for the last three consecutive years. There is no room for complaisance for this growth rate. The country has the potentials to achieve much higher GDP growth rate.
It is now monsoon time in Bangladesh. Monsoon will continue till September. The country is wearing a new and fresh look with trees and shrubs being washed with rain. -------------------------------------- June, '08 Last month Bangladesh has exported the first ship, after mid-eighteen century, made at one of its shipyards. With that the country has emerged as the 5th ship exporting country in Asia. The colonial policy destroyed the world renowned shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh during the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time Ottoman Turkey was one of the main customers of ships built at Chittagong shipyards in Bangladesh. In 1818, Germans got a ship, named ‘Deutschland Frigate’, made at Chittagong. We hope shipbuilding will again contribute significantly to the economy of Bangladesh, not long ago which was one of the richest countries in the world. In May, A Golden Age, the book based on Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971, written by Tahmima Anam of Bangladesh won the Commonwealth Overall Best First Book Award 2008. A Golden Age is in the process of being published in 18 languages, including French, Spanish and German. The Italian, Portuguese and Dutch versions of the work are already on sale. Tahmima inherits the rich Bengali literature. Rabindranath Tagore, the great Bengali poet, received Nobel Price for literature as long ago as in 1912. In May, Bangladesh harvested a massive bumper boro — one of the two main rice that grows in the country, the other is Aman. The boro output has exceeded the ambitious government target of 17.5 million tons. The excellent boro output has come on the heels of bumper wheat and potato crops. We hope Bangladesh will keep on growing more foods to save it from the worldwide food shortage being caused by making bio-fuel from food grains.
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Editor : Faruque Hasan |
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Bangladesh becoming a middle income country by 2010 read the article |
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Saturday, July 19, 2008 Bangladeshi scientist invents easy device to detect bird flu Dr. Md Alimul Islam, a professor of Microbiology and Hygiene Department at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), has developed a cheap and easy device for detection of avian influenza (bird flu). In recent years avian influenza has turned into a great menace to the poultry industry In Asia. Dr. Islam said the bird flu virus has been isolated and it is possible to go for production of its vaccine at a low cost. The low cost device will detect the virus within a few hours. This invention of the new method of bird flu detection and consequent production of low cost vaccines will help to save the poultry sector as well as the people related with it. Dr. Islam conducted his research at the laboratory of F n F Pharmaceuticals in Jhenaidah for a year to develop the 'Molecular Detection Method'. There are three types (types A, B and C) of influenza virus and avian influenza belongs to type A that has 25 sub-type viruses under HA (Hem agglutinin) and NA (Neuraminidase) categories. Δ Top Thursday, July 17, 2008 Lalon Gitee Singer Farida Parveen wins Fukuoka Prize Lalon Gitee (song) singer, Farida Parveen of Bangladesh has been awarded the prestigious Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize 2008. The prize instituted by Fukuoka City in Japan and Yokatopia Foundation was officially announced in Japan on June 24.
The Fukuoka Prize was instituted in 1990 to
honor the outstanding work of individuals or groups to preserve and
create unique and diverse cultures of Asia. The other winners of the Fukuoka prize for this year are Ann Hui of Hong Kong (Grand Prize), Savitri Goonesekere of Sri Lanka (Academic Prize) and Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of Malaysia (Academic Prize). Farida Parveen is the second Bangladeshi to be honored with Fukuoka Prize. Dr Muhammad Yunus, who received Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, was awarded the Fukuoka Grand Prize in 2001. Saturday, July 15, 2008 BAPEX discovered one TCF gas at Bhola Officials of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX), a state-owned company, has confirmed after conducting production testing that the first and second wells of Shahbazpur gas field in Bhola district have an estimated reserve of no less than one trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. BAPEX is taking preparation to drill the third well at the field. It is now possible to supply about 40 sscft of gas per day from the first and second wells. The preparation to supply gas from the second well to the 34.5 MW power plant at Kheaghat is underway. The power plant is hopefully to get the gas supply from September. The Shahbajpur gas field was discovered in 1995. But due to lack of large scale consumers at the locality it has not been explored further till now. |
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Saturday, July 8. 2008 Bangladeshi singer, Palbasha, is up there with Madonna and MariahPalbasha Siddique, 17, a Bangladeshi, who now lives in northeast Minneapolis, can now be heard singing around the globe. She has hit the big time in a hit YouTube video, “Dancing” seen around the world. "Dancing" has now been viewed 4 million times. The song on the video called "Praan" which means "life" in Bengali, has made the top 10 of Amazon’s soundtrack downloads over the past week and is also in the top 100 of all its MP3 downloads, surpassing many notable pop stars. It's up over Madonna and Mariah Carey. The video shows a man dancing with people from all around the world, has a deeper message when seen in context with her music. The music in the "Dancing" video is a far stretch from "God Bless America." In her native tongue, Siddique sings the song based on a poem by Nobel Prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore called "Stream of Life." Palbasha Siddique was Born in Bangladesh in 1991, and she moved to Minneapolis, MN at age 10. She began to sing when she was 3 years old, and she still continues to sing in Bengali and English. She now has her own band, Melange, which will release its debut album in December, 2008. Δ Top Monday, July 7, 2008 Bangladesh received record US$7.94 billion Remittance from NRBs A total of US$7.94 billion, a record mark, was remitted to Bangladesh in the fiscal year 2007-08 by Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) working abroad. The fiscal ended in June. Remittance grew 33 per cent last fiscal year compared to the remittance received in the previous fiscal year (2006-07), which was US$5.98 billion. The remittance growth in last fiscal year was 33 percent. The central bank statistics of 10-year period revealed that the remittance growth was at 24 per cent in both 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years. In 2000-01 fiscal the remittance received by Bangladesh was $1.88 billion. It was $1.94 billion the previous fiscal. According to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, a total of 377,894 Bangladeshis left for various countries in the first five months of the current year. The number was 265,827 during the same period of 2007. Δ Top
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Sunday July 6, 2008 Bangladesh releases 25,000 protected turtles to the sea Bio-marine experts of Bangladesh have released 25,000 endangered baby Olive Ridley turtles into the sea in the past two months as part of a state-run captivity breeding program. The turtles come to the shore of the country every October swimming as long as three thousand miles from the Indian Ocean to lay the eggs. 80 to 90 percent of the turtle eggs would have been destroyed by humans, dogs and foxes if the program had not existed. The state run program has started collecting the eggs along the southern coastline of the country at the end of last year and since May has released 25,000 hatchlings following an incubation period. Last year 15,000 baby turtles were released. The number of released turtles has grown a lot this year because of expansion of the program. The program has started five years ago but this breeding season has been the most successful by far. The biggest danger the turtle faces are from local tribe people who consider the eggs a delicacy. As well as setting up hatcheries in the southern district of Cox's Bazaar, the program has also been focusing on educating locals about the importance of protecting the turtles. Cox’s bazaar has the world’s longest unbroken beach. Due to awareness building among the local people not to eat or sell the eggs, now many of them are not eating the eggs and helping the program protect the eggs by collecting them to incubate in the hatcheries. Δ Top Tuesday July 1, 2008 Biman awarded 'Foreign Carrier of the Year (Passenger)' by Malaysian airport authorities Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been awarded the 'foreign carrier of the year (passenger)' award by the Malaysian Airports authorities. Malaysian Airlines and Air Asia won the 'carrier of the year' and the 'low cost carrier of the year' award, respectively. Korean Air and MAS Kargo won the 'foreign carrier of the year (cargo)' award. Biman carried the highest number of passengers, about 150,000, to Malaysia in 2007 and operated about 200 extra flights in addition to its regular flights. Biman also carried about 60,000 passengers from Malaysia to Dhaka in the same year. |
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Bangladeshi scientist's discovery to save human lives Syed Ashraf Ahmed, a scientist from Bangladesh and now working at US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRID), has discovered a highly efficient inhibitor of botulinum neurotoxin type A which can lead to development of a very effective drug to stop the devastating effect of toxin in human body. Syed Ashraf has initiated the structure based inhibitor design as part of the bio-defence research programme of USAMRID where he is working as principal investigator and research chemist from 1997. He has concentrated on designing a number of small scale peptide which appears to be an effective anti-dote to the potent form of toxin. Research work on Botulinum neuro toxin -- produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum -- has begun in nineteenth century with the advancement of science when German physician Justinus Kerner described botulium toxin as "sausage poison and fatty poison". Less than a billion of an ounce could cause muscle paralysis leading to death. It is deadly protein known to human being. Syed Ashraf Ahmed obtained MSc in Biochemistry from Dhaka University in 1974, and diploma in Microbiology from Osaka and Kyoto in 1979 and PhD in Microbial biochemistry in Kyoto as Monbusho (Japanese government scholarship Monbukagakusho) scholar. Prior to that he served in Dhaka University as a Lecturer in Biochemistry from 1975 to 1978. Syed Ashraf was a visiting fellow at Fogarty International centre of National Institute of Health (NIH) in Maryland from 1983 to 1987. During his stay in NIH he did some research work on the structure of an important enzyme (Tryptophan Synthase). His research results were duly appreciated by scientists and included in major graduate level biochemistry text books in the west. Syed Ashraf Ahmed is research adviser of the prestigious National Research Council of US National Academy of Sciences since 2000. |
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Bangladeshi shipbuilder to build 10 ships for Japan A shipping company, Japan based Tokyo Freighting Ltd, has signed an agreement on 18 June (2008) with a Bangladeshi shipbuilder, Highspeed Shipbuilding & Engineering Co, to build ten small ships. This is the first time Bangladesh has won a contract for shipbuilding from Japan, the most advanced shipbuilding nation in the world. This underlines the increasing global acceptance of Bangladesh as an emerging shipbuilding nation. Highspeed will supply the ships by October 2010. The ships include dry cargo carriers and oil tankers. Manufacturing of the first four ships will start by December this year and will be delivered to Tokyo Freighting by March next year.
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Green energy award for Grameen Shakti Grameen Shakti, a non-profit organization in Bangladesh, was awarded the 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award at the Ashden Awards ceremony in London on 19 June. The organization has installed 150,000 solar home systems in the country and is adding around 5,000 new systems each month.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy was
founded in 2001 by the Ashden Trust, a Britain-based charity that
works to increase the use of local sustainable energy worldwide. Grameen Shakti promotes, develops and popularizes renewable energy technologies in remote, rural areas of Bangladesh. The organization now has 400 local offices and opens 10 new offices every month. Δ Top
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Per capita income in Bangladesh reaches US$599 According to the latest national accounts data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), per capita income in Bangladesh has reached to US$ 599 this fiscal year (2007-08, July-June). Per capita income marked a rise by nearly 14 percent comparing to last year’s income, which was US$ 523. BBS has used Atlas Method to calculate the per capita income. By Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Method, per capita income in Bangladesh was US$ 2,200 in 2006-07 fiscal year. The per capita income in Bangladesh, by Atlas Method, used to be US$440 in fiscal 2003-4, US$463 in 04-5 and US$476 in 05-6. The way Bangladesh is preceding in the field of economy may look like that it will achieve the status of a middle-income country in near future. A country remains an LDC till its per capita income remains below US$ 750.
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Export earning grew 14.66 percent in last 10 months According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh earned US$11.37 billion from exports during the July-April period of the current fiscal year 2007-08, which has shown a growth of 14.66 percent of the earning from exports during the corresponding period of the last year. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), US$ 14.5 billion is the target of export earning in Fiscal Year 2007-08, which ends with the end of June. The country expects to maintain a 20 percent export growth of RMG products up to 2013. During the July-April period of this fiscal year, exports of vegetable, petroleum by-products, tea, cut flower/foliage and textile fabrics grew more than 60 percent. Δ Top
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Bangladesh sees 6.21pc GDP growth, lower inflationThe government of Bangladesh estimates that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) will grow by 6.21 percent in the current fiscal year (FY2007-08), which will end on 30 June, despite fears that economic growth might dip as much as one percentage point. Besides, inflation rate in Bangladesh has dropped to 7.66 percent, as point-to-point inflation fell by 2.4 percentage points between March and April. High inflation rates in South Asian countries have been a concern for their governments. In India Wholesale price inflation rose 8.75% in the 12 months to 31 May. In Pakistan inflation during the last 12-months increased at a rate of 9.28 percent. And Sri Lanka's annual inflation rate rose to 19.8 percent in May. The table below shows annual GDP growth rates of Bangladesh since the year 2000:
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Estimated Coal Deposits in Bangladesh at 2.5 billion tons A recent UNDP-Bangladesh report titled "Sustainable Energy Development in Bangladesh -- Coal as an alternative energy resource" says Bangladesh has the estimated resources of 2.5 billion tons of coal which are equivalent to 65 trillion cubic feet of gas. These reserves can assure energy security for the country in the medium and long-term. The report further says that more extensive exploration in northwest Bangladesh could augment the coal resource base significantly. Coal could provide the much-needed energy security for the nation. The report briefly reviews the five coal deposits of Jamalganj, Barapukuria, Phulbari, Dighipara and Khalaspir in the northwest part of the country.
Phulbari deposit discovered in 1997 has 572
million tons coal at a depth of 150 meters to 240 meters. Discovered in 1985, Barapukuria deposit has proven 303 million tons and proven and probable 390 million tons coal at depth ranging between 118 meters and 509 meters. Khalaspir zone was discovered in 1989, and coal was found at a depth of 257 to 483 meters. The proven reserve at this place is 143 million tons, while the proven-probable reserve is 685 million tons. Dighipara zone was discovered in 1994, and coal was found at a depth of 328-407 meters with a proven reserve of 150 million ton and a proven-probable reserve of 600 million ton. Δ Top
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Readymade garments industry booming in Bangladesh Bangladesh is now the world's 5th largest producer of textiles and garments. Belying the predictions by the so called international experts that the garments industry in Bangladesh would be declining fast in post-MFA period, the readymade garments (RMG) industry in the country is now growing rapidly as the country has become a lucrative place for RMG outsourcing. Many Chinese readymade garments manufacturers have either changed their businesses or stopped production following the decline in foreign buying orders for appreciation of Chinese currency against dollar and higher cost of doing business due to a hike in workers' wages in that country. China is now the world's largest apparel manufacturing country.
Besides
USA, and west European countries, Russia and Uzbekistan are going to be
major destinations for Bangladeshi RMG products as the buyers of those
countries are moving to Bangladesh instead of China to place huge orders.
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Bangladesh earned USD 6.56 billion from remittance
Bangladesh
is one of the major manpower exporting countries. Last year Bangladesh
received remittances amounting to USD 6.56 billion from its workers employed
abroad and non-resident Bangladeshis. This year the country already has
received USD 3 billion during the first four months.
So far
this year, 365,000 Bangladeshis have received emigration clearances for
overseas employment. At this rate, the number of overseas employment may
even reach a million this year. Bangladesh ranks first in South Asia on peace index Bangladesh ranks first among the states in South Asia region in the ranking of peaceful nations in 2008, according to a study conducted by the Global Peace Index, an independent think tank. The region comprises Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh placed 86th among 140 countries in the ranking of peaceful states in 2008. Iceland tops the survey of 140 states with the USA being placed in 97th position while Russia at the 131st place. Global Peace Index, which is drawn up by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent study group, together with the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit, conducted the survey. It tests each nation against 24 "peacefulness" criteria, including a nation's relations with its neighbors, arms sales and foreign troop developments. It also takes into account data on a nation's crime rate, its prison, population and the potential for terrorism within its borders. Mega deep-sea port at Sonadia Island
The
government of Bangladesh has signed an addendum agreement with a Japanese
firm, PCI, which will work in association with four other foreign and local
consulting firms, to start the second phase of the feasibility study on the
proposed mega deep-sea port to be built at Sonadia Island at Cox’a bazar
coast. The port will be connected to the mainland by bridges and tunnels.
Road and railway lines will be established for the purpose of carrying cargo
to the mainland. The deep-sea port will have 58 jetties of 11-kilometre
length. Bangladesh exporting the first ship
Today
Ananda Shipyard, one of the biggest Bangladeshi shipbuilding companies, will
deliver the 'Stella Maris, a vessel with a capacity of about 3,000 dead
weight tones, to its Danish buyer Stella Shipping. This will mark the return
of Bangladesh to the global shipbuilding industry after the mid-nineteenth
century.
Today
there are about 300 small and large dockyards in Bangladesh, generating
about 100,000 jobs. Bangladeshi company signs deal to export halal meat to Malaysia A Bangladeshi company, Premium Halal Abattoir, has signed a deal to export halal meat to Malaysia. The company, under a memorandum of understanding with Barakah Import of Malaysia, will export 50 tones of meat a year to Malaysia.
Peninsula
Abattoir, another meat processing company, is in talks with buyers to export
processed meat to European countries.
Bangladesh
government paid fees to Office of the International Epizooties (OIE) for
membership of the agency and to get certificate as well. If Bangladesh gets
certification from OIE, the country will be treated as a mad cow
diseases-free country, creating opportunities for Bangldeshi companies to
export to European countries. US science journal, Nature, makes cover story on Bangladeshi scientist
An US
science journal and among the most prestigious in the world, Nature, has
made a cover story on a paper of a Bangladeshi scientist.
Power generation without fuel Gias Uddin Kachi, a young man from Chittagong (Bangladesh) and a dropout from the school, has invented a process of generating electricity without burning fuel or using hydropower. On 19 April he displayed his invention in a pubic show arranged by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce. In the show he generated 1 (one) kilowatt of electricity from an ‘auto power generator’ to run an energy saving bulb, a fan and a drilling machine. In the conventional process of power generation, fuel or hydropower is used to run the generator. In the fuel-less power generating process invented by Kachi, twenty percent of the total electricity produced by the generator is reused to run the generator. The engineers, who were present in the show, expressed their high satisfaction about the invention. United Nations has sent a letter of congratulation to Gias for his invention. Some big American and German power plant companies are showing their interest in the technology of power generation without fuel. Bangladesh textile firm targets USD 180m exports next fiscal
Noman Group,
one of the leading Bangladeshi textile companies, has the target of
exporting home textile and other garment worth USD 180 million in the next
fiscal year. |