28-02-2021

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021
2
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organized a discussion and doa program on the occasion of Shaheed Day and International
Mother Language Day on 21 February, 2021 Sunday at virtual platform. Professor Md. Nazmul Hassan, Ph.D, Chairman of the
bank addressed the program as chief guest. Professor Dr. Md. Salim Uddin, FCA, FCMA, Chairman, Executive Committee and
Major General (Retd.) Engr. Abdul Matin, Chairman, Risk Management Committee of the bank addressed the program as special
guests. Professor Md. Kamal Uddin, Ph.D, Dr. Qazi Shahidul Alam, Syed Abu Asad, Md. Quamrul Hasan, Professor Dr.
Mohammad Saleh Jahur, Professor Dr. Md. Fashiul Alam, Khurshid-Ul- Alam, Directors of the bank were present on the occasion.
Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director and CEO of the bank presided over the program while Muhammad
Qaisar Ali and Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Directors addressed the program. Md. Mosharraf Hossain,
Deputy Managing Director conducted the program while JQM Habibullah, FCS, Company Secretary and AAM Habibur
Rahman, Deputy Managing Directors along with other top executives and more than 500 employees of the bank attended the
program.
Photo : Courtesy
Four more reported
COVID-19 positive in
Rangpur division
RANGPUR: Four more people
were tested COVID-19positive
yesterday raising the total
number of coronavirus infected
patients to15,840 in all eight
districts of Rangpur division,
reports BSS.
Health officials said the four
new cases were reported after
94 sampleswere tested at the
laboratory. The daily infection
rate is 4.26 percent todayin the
division, where a declining
trend in infection rate continues.
All of the four new patients
were reported positive after
diagnosing 94samples at M
Abdur Rahim Medical College
(MARMC) in Dinajpur yesterday.
"The four new infected
patients include two each from
Nilphamari andDinajpur districts,"
Principal of MARMC
Professor Dr. Syed Nazir
Hossainsaid.
On the other hand, the testing
process remained suspended
today for aninadequate
number of collected
samples at the COVID-19
Laboratory
at
RangpurMedical College
(RpMC) in Rangpur city.
Talking to BSS tonight, Focal
Person of COVID-19 and
Assistant Director(Health) for
Rangpur division Dr. ZA
Siddiqui said the number of
COVID-19patients rose to
15,840 as four new positive
cases were reported from
acrossthe division today.
"The district-wise break up
of total 15,840 patients stands
at 4,044 inRangpur, 794 in
Panchagarh, 1,331 in
Nilphamari, 965 in
Lalmonirhat, 1,020
inKurigram, 1,512 in
Thakurgaon, 4,712 in Dinajpur
and 1,462 in Gaibandha,"
Dr.Siddiqui added.
Graduation to developing country
(From page-1)
To make the development sustainable,
she said that the government has formulated
the eight five-year plan and included
different strategies in it to ensure sustainable
development.
The Prime Minister said the Bangalee is
a nation of bravery and it had achieved its
independence in only nine months,
adding, "Bangladesh will soon establish
as a developed, prosperous and dignified
country in the world if the pace of development
continues."
The economy will gain pace further if
the mega projects such as Padma Bridge,
metrorail, elevated expressway, tunnel
under the Karnaphuli river, Rooppur
Nuclear Power Plant and Moheshkhali-
Matarbari coordinated development projects,
100 economic zones and over 200
high-tech parks and IT village are implemented.
Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh has
achieved the status of a developing country
after successfully fulfilling all the three
criteria such as per capita income, human
resources and economical and environmental
vulnerability assessed by the United
Nations in its this year's triennial
meeting.
Earlier, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa
Kamal handed over the UN recommendation
to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at
Ganobhaban.
The UN in its first triennial meeting
three years back first recognised that
Bangladesh has fulfilled all the three criteria
in 2018, she continued.
Cabinet members, including Information
Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and
Commerce Minister TipuMunsi, were
also present at the Ganabhaban end.
PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim
moderated the function while cabinet
members and the country's senior journalists
got connected to the event from
the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) at Tejgaon
here.
46 listed companies
get ICMAB award
The Institute of Cost and Management
Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) has
awarded 46 listed companies, along with two
non-listed government banks, one non listed
specialized financial institution and four nongovernmental
organizations (NGO), for their
performance and role in 2019, reports BSS.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, as the chief
guest of the event, handed over the awards to the
winners at a city hotel on Thursday evening, said
a press release.
ICMAB President Md Jasim Uddin Akond
presided over the program. Bangladesh
Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)
chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam,
Commerce Secretary Dr Md Jafar Uddin and
South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)
President A K M Delwer Hussain also spoke on
the occasion as special guests.
ICMAB corporate Award committee chairman
Md Abdul Aziz FCMA, Vice Chairman Md
Mamunur Rashid FCMA and ICMAB secretary
Md Munirul Islam FCMA also spoke the program.
The annual 'Best Corporate Award',
which the ICMAB started in 2007, is given
based on the review of the contestant entities'
corporate governance and other qualitative and
quantitative information published in respective
annual reports.
The 15 award categories were Nationalized
Commercial Bank, Private Commercial Bank,
Private Commercial Bank (Islamic Operation),
non-bank financial institution, general insurance,
Life Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Cement,
Textile, multinational company, Others
Manufacturing, Power Generation, NGO, Agro
and Food Processing "mw Trading and
Assembly.
In the state owned commercial bank category
Rupali Bank won the gold award, while
Sonali Bank and Agrani Bank jointly won silver
award.
In the Private Commercial Bank Category 1st
(gold) BRAC Bank Limited, 2nd (silver)
Eastern Bank Limited and 3rd (bronze) Dutch-
Bangla Bank Limited.
'Digitisation of MF will
help sustainable growth'
Digitialisation of microfinance services could open up a new class
of opportunities for financial inclusion and sustainable growth,
both key drivers of the country's journey toward becoming a high
income nation by 2041.
This was the consensus of an eminent panel of speakers during
a webinar entitled "Unlocking the power of digitization in the
MFI sector" organized by Standard Chartered recently.
While traditionally a human intensive operation, significant
opportunities to digitalise processes ranging from disbursements
to repayment collections, client information capture,
training and monitoring are opening up due to adoption of
technology at the grassroots. Mobile financial services are a
vital part of this ecosystem, but remains a necessary yet not sufficient
condition for microfinance institutions to scale up their
operations. Through digitalisation, the microfinance institutions
remain keen on achieving greater efficiencies that can
ultimately be passed on to their beneficiaries in terms of lower
cost of financing and greater convenience. Speakers at the
webinar included Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO, Standard Chartered
Bangladesh; Md. Fashiullah, Executive Vice Chairman,
Microcredit Regulatory Authority; Zahida Fizza Kabir, CEO,
Sajida Foundation; Kamal Quadir, CEO, Bkash; Prof. Dr.
Hosne Ara Begum, and Md. Saleh Bin Sums, Executive
Director, PADAKHEP Manabik Unnayan Kendra.
82 more test
positive for
COVID-19 in Ctg
CHATTOGRAM: A total of
82 people were testedpositive
for coronavirus in the last 24
hours after testing 1821 samples
atseven COVID-19 laboratories
in the district, reports
BSS.
The number of coronavirus
(COVID-19) positive cases
reached 34,857 marksand the
infection rate is 4.5 percent.
Civil surgeon Dr Sheikh
Fazle Rabbi told BSS that
among the total 34,857coronavirus
infected persons,
27,348 are the residents of the
port city andthe rest 7509 are
residents of different upazilas
of the district.
Among the newly detected
patients, 74 are from
Chattogram city and eightfrom
different upazilas of the
district, hospital sources said.
GD-327/21 (8x4)
Electrification boosts rural economy
despite COVID-19 pandemic
RANGPUR: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic,
power-run small, medium and large scale
enterprises are boosting rural economy by
virtue of rural electrification in Rangpur division,
reports BSS.
Officials of Bangladesh Rural
Electrification Board (BREB) at its Rangpur
zonal office said Eight PalliBidyutSamities
have provided around 34 lakh different types
of power connections covering 31.95 lakh
beneficiary families in rural areas of the division.
The provided power connections include
30.54 lakh residential, 1.90 lakh commercial,
43,552 charitable institutions, 29,299 small
and medium scale and cottage industries, 712
large industries, 86,633 irrigation pumps,
835 streets lights and 372 other connections.
"Local entrepreneurs have set up 29,299
power-run cottage, small and medium scale
enterprises and industries and 712 large
industries in the zone," Superintending
Engineer of BREB at its Rangpur zonal office
Engineer AB Mahmud Hossain told BSS
today.
Braving the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurs
are continuing to establish cottage,
small and medium scale power-run enterprises
and industries to create jobs for unemployed
youths, cut poverty and improve the
living standard of rural people.
"We have already brought 100-percent villages
under power supply coverage in the Ongrid
area bringing a landmark change in living
standard, rural economy and lifestyle of
rural people of Rangpur division," Engineer
Mahmud said.
All 9,298 targeted villages in 514 unions in
the On-grid area of BREB's Rangpur zone
GD-328/21 (4x3)
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were brought under 100-percent power supply
networks in 55 upazilas of the division by
July 31 last year also paving the way for rural
people to set up and run enterprises.
"We are working to bring other 118 char villages
in the Off-grid area under electricity
coverage by March to make the 'Electricity for
All', Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's one of
the 10 special initiatives, a complete success
in the Mujib Barsho," he said.
Taking advantage of rural electrification,
entrepreneurs are running 3.07 lakh powerrun
commercial establishments, cottage,
small and medium enterprises, agri- based
and heavy industries while farmers are operating
irrigation pumps in rural areas.
"The power-run enterprises and industries
are booming fast to boost rural economy
across Rangpur division even during the
COVID-19 pandemic," Engineer Mahmud
said.
Talking to BSS, farmer Ariful Haque of village
Najirdigar in Rangpur Sadar said he cultivates
Boro rice and other crops on his lands
using own electricity-run irrigation pumps. "I
spend Taka 3,000 per acre of my sandy land
for cultivating Boro rice using an electricityrun
irrigation pump while other farmers
spend up to Taka 10,000 per acre using
diesel-run shallow tube wells," Ariful said.
Anwarul Islam of village
ChandanpatMatiyapara under Rangpur
Sadarupazila said he set up a welding workshop
at nearby Chandanpat Bazar and started
welding works using electricity six years ago.
"I earn Taka 20,000 a month after paying
electricity bills ranging between Taka 1,500
and 2,500 per month," Anwarul said.