The government is planning to procure an aircraft for VVIP flights to ensure the security of the president and the prime minister during their official visits abroad. Bangladesh Air Force will operate the special aircraft, sources in the civil aviation and tourism ministry said yesterday. The civil aviation and tourism ministry has prepared a report for the purchase of the aircraft for approval.
The updating of voter list across the country concluded on November 10 with 4.95 percent increase in the number of total voters. A total of 40,27,787 people were enrolled as voters anew during the updating of the voter list with photographs. Of them, 20,51,048 are new voters and 19,73,460 left-out voters.
The tax evasion case against Bashundhara Industrial Complex Ltd will be settled in the court, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed said on Thursday rejecting the company's appeal for negotiation outside the court. NBR Chairman Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed delivered the decision at a press briefing on online income tax return submissions at his office in the noon.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her concern that the new pay scale for public servants might lead to an inflationary spiral, leading to the price-hike of essential commodities, said a highly-placed source in the government. She expressed her concern on Wednesday at a special Cabinet meeting that approved the Seventh Pay Scale for some 1.2 million employees and officers on the government’s payroll, with effect from July 1 this year.
A three day long conference of Asia Pacific region of the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) will be held from November 12 to November 14 at Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel. Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association (BAPA) will organise the event.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to move fast for quick disposal of all the pending income tax cases to realise the outstanding money from the defaulters. She gave the directive while presiding over the quarterly Financial and Economic Review meeting at the PM's Office yesterday. In this context, the PM asked the NBR authority to take firm steps against the tax-dodgers so that "in no way they can get tax exemptions."
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday spoke tough against tender manipulation and extortion amid growing allegations of such misdeeds. She advised leaders and activists Juba League, an associate organisation of the ruling Awami League, to be self-reliant using their own merit and strength. ‘We do not want to hear any incident of tender manipulation and extortion,’ said Sheikh Hasina, also the president of the ruling Awami League, as she addressed a discussion marking the 37th founding anniversary of the Juba League in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre Wednesday evening.
The government, after increasing the salary of government employees, is now thinking about increasing perks and privileges for ministers and lawmakers, officials said. The parliament speaker, Abdul Hamid, on Wednesday said he might send the proposals to the prime minister asking for measures to increase allowances of lawmakers of the 345-strong parliament.
President Zillur Rahman returned home yesterday after a six-day visit to Turkey, joining the Economic Summit of COMCEC (Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation) of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul on November 9. An Emirates Airline flight brought the president back home.
The constitution empowers the parliamentary standing committees to examine draft bills before placing them in parliament to enact laws but successive governments have not followed the provision. The common practice is that the cabinet approves the draft bills or any legislative proposals, which are placed in the House as bills later for turning them into laws.
