While Muhammad Yunus must be credited highly for his contribution toward innovation in banking and opening up a vast sea of market for the huge accumulated finance capital, the linking of poverty alleviation with this corporate success is ridiculous and may not be a very innocent one either. Anu Muhammad explains.

The Bangladesh Privatization commission’s frantic maneuver to sell-off Rupali Bank to Saudi Prince for US$330 million is pushed at the final stage of public hoodwinking. The decision of hiring foreign consultant, the decision of selling the 67.26% government share through tender were not necessarily in the interest of the country. An amount of US$330 million is a peanut for a nation. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman has more...

There is little discussion, amid all the bickering over the budget, on whether the poor is indeed benefiting. Going by the facts available, they have not benefited from the sustained economic growth, and given that the government has not made any significant change in its policy they will continue to starve, remain unemployed and wither, writes Tanim Ahmed

Recognised as the leading industrial/business house in India, TATA has already emerged as a global corporation and is on the move to expand in different regions. Its investment plan in Bangladesh is one of the biggest of Tata’s external investment so far. The group wants to establish a power plant, a steel plant and a fertiliser plant in Bangladesh, all based primarily on gas and coal resources of the country. Anu Muhammad attempts to look at the projects to understand cost and benefit and its rationale from people’s perspective.

It appears that a coal policy is being drafted to provide for and justify leasing out the coal fields of Bangladesh to British AEC and Indian TATA at a national loss of US$31,597.5, while Bangladesh can earn at least US$5,294 million plus if Bangladesh keep the operation under its control without ecological, environmental, physical and political disaster, and foreseeable human casualties. Mustafizur Rahman explains.

TATA, one of the largest corporate bodies of India, has proposed a US$2.5 billion investment plan to Bangladesh. The investment plan combines export-oriented plants of Steel, Power and Fertilizer. TATA proposal is highly linked with mineral resources of Bangladesh. The group’s conditions placed with the governmnet of Bangladesh raise concern and opposition. Habib Ahmed briefly discusses on the conditions of TATA, negotiation and related issues.

While resistance is going on in Bangladesh against Government's moves to give immunity to World Bank, Rabi Rafique presents a critical analysis of Bank's criminal activities towards poor countries referring Bangladeshi national dailies and experts of home and abroad.

The movement of an economy from agriculture to service, bypassing or degenerating manufacturing, may not go with the text book notion of development but this is very significant to study this direction of peripheral economy like Bangladesh. Growth of Malls has become a shining star here over dismantled mills. Anu Muhammad elaborates.