Baharam Khan

The government yesterday forced 22 more officials into retirement, raising the number of disciplined bureaucrats to 67 for their questionable role as deputy commissioners in the 2014 and 2018 sham elections under the Awami League regime.

Deputy commissioners yesterday returned to work following the DC Conference-2025 with some key instructions from the government: maintain law and order;  prevent corruption; curb price hike of essentials during Ramadan; and prepare for the upcoming national election.

With the interim government having completed its first six months in office, all eyes are now on the series of dialogues with political parties to reach a consensus on reforms to be carried out.

The government has decided to take disciplinary action against 110 to 120 officials, including former deputy commissioners (DCs) and divisional commissioners still in service, who played significant roles in the engineered elections during the Awami League’s rule.

Deputy commissioners yesterday proposed clipping the authority of local representatives while expanding their own administrative powers in various sectors.

At least two DCs have sent proposals to the cabinet division ahead of the Deputy Commissioners’ (DC) Conference today seeking full control over superintendents of police (SP) and officers-in-charge (OC).

Says reform commission report, identifies politicisation as key reason for decline in efficiency

The Public Administrative Reform Commission is set to propose declaring Cumilla and Faridpur as divisions and reducing the sizes of Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.

The Public Administration Reform Commission is likely to recommend abolishing the zila parishad and strengthening the upazila parishad.

The Police Headquarters has recommended suspending the recruitment process for all 310 police cadre posts from the 44th to 47th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations.

Nahid Islam, adviser to the interim government, spoke with The Daily Star on the nation's key challenges and the way forward.

For government employees, voluntary retirement with pension benefits currently requires 25 years of service. The Public Administration Reform Commission is set to recommend lowering the requirement to 15 years.

The Anti-Corruption Commission is seeking information about government officials and staffers, judges and employees of courts, and elected public representatives who have dual citizenship in violation of service rules.

The interim government may lift the ban on exports of fragrant rice to increase revenue and address the long-standing demand of the country’s business community to boost trade and enhance export earnings.

The production of aromatic rice has nearly doubled in Bangladesh over the past seven years, with farmers showing interest in growing the grain in order to profit from its higher prices compared to traditional parboiled rice.

10.23 lakh tonnes of aromatic rice was produced in FY24, up from 5.79 lakh tonnes in FY18

The commission is likely to recommend reducing the number of ministries and divisions to 30

The interim government is set to import seven lakh tonnes of rice, the highest in the last seven fiscal years, as it looks to shore up its depleting food grain stock and ease the cost of living crisis for the low- and fixed-income people battered by the prolonged high inflation.

The interim government has expanded the Open Market Sales (OMS) programme across the country to help families cope with inflation, as retail prices of kitchen essentials continue to soar in the local market.

The government yesterday issued a stern warning to the officials of 26 cadres, stating that disciplinary action will be taken for violating the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules-1979.