Asifur Rahman

The government has finalised a draft law to form a single authority by merging at least three investment-related institutions to improve Bangladesh’s position in attracting foreign direct investment.

Delays in obtaining road-cutting approvals from several government agencies have stalled the installation of underground transmission lines under Dhaka Electric Supply Company’s (Desco) power infrastructure expansion project, prompting the utility to seek a two-year extension, according to an official monitoring report.

Bangladesh has for the first time formally brought nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products into the national tax framework, with public health experts warning that the move could legitimise a new generation of nicotine products despite growing global concerns over their health risks.

The government has identified energy security as one of its top strategic priorities for fiscal 2026-27, even as it proposed a nearly 23 percent reduction in the power and energy sector’s allocation from this year’s original.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) yesterday raised electricity tariffs at wholesale, transmission, and retail levels, disregarding the objections from different stakeholders.

The government is set to launch exploration offers for all 26 offshore blocks today under a significantly relaxed framework featuring lower qualification thresholds, reduced entry costs and a series of commercial safeguards aimed at lowering investor risk in the Bay of Bengal.

Electricity consumers may face a 13.9 percent increase in retail tariffs in addition to any rise in wholesale electricity and transmission charges, according to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission’s (BERC) Technical Evaluation Committee.

People should not have to pay for the authorities’ inefficiency, failures, and system losses, consumers said at a hearing on the Power Development Board’s tariff hike proposal yesterday.