Mahbubur Rahman Khan

Although the prices of some daily commodities have decreased, middle- and low-income families are still struggling to make ends meet due to the recent hike in prices of essential grocery items such as eggs, chicken, onions, and potatoes.

Despite an upward trend in the overall catch, year-on-year growth rate of hilsa production has been declining in recent years. The reasons include illegal netting of brood and jatka hilsa, widespread use of banned gillnet and the impact of climate change such as erratic rainfalls.

The drop in the price of rice and flour could not bring relief among low income people as the vegetable price is soaring.

With the consumers already feeling the pinch of the soaring prices of essentials, most of the spices are becoming pricier ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha.

The government is set to distribute 10 kilograms of rice to each of the 1.25 crore ultra-poor and destitute families ahead of Eid-ul-Azha to soften the blow of a spiralling inflation.

The government is set to form the National Pension Authority (NPA) to execute the Universal Pension Scheme formulated to provide pension services for the common people.

Although tax returns are a key document for investigating illegal wealth, the Income Tax Bill 2023 proposes making it impossible for Anti-Corruption Commission officials to access a suspect’s tax files without a court order.

The government’s high-ups have talked about their “firm stances” against graft to protect the country’s GDP on multiple occasions. However, there is little reflection of that stance in the latest budget disclosure as to how the government will curb corruption and money laundering.