Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday morning paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at the portrait of the great leader in front of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi-32 in the capital on the occasion of historic Mujibnagar Day.
The Cabinet has approved in principle a proposal of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) for formulating an integrated income tax law incorporating all previous rules, amendment and orders. The approval was given in the weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital yesterday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. After the meeting Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said that the new act would make the income tax laws and rules more easy and effective.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for Thimphu this morning on a three-day official tour to attend the International Conference on Autism and Neuro Developmental Disorders. Her flight is scheduled to reach Paro International Airport in the Bhutanese capital at 11.35 am, local time.
Bangladesh may sign six deals or Memoranda of Understanding with Bhutan during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s three-day visit to Bhutan, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday.
President M Abdul Hamid yesterday visited different haor areas of Kishoreganj, Netrakona and Sunamganj districts where majority of people are now facing hardship following the flashflood caused by the onrush of water from Indian hills.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was handed yesterday a replica of the Bangabandhu Satellite scheduled to be launched in the orbit on December 16 this year. State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim handed over the replica to the Prime Minister at the beginning of the cabinet meeting. The Bangabandhu Satellite, with a capacity of 1,600 megahertz, will have 40 transponders and the physical equipment of the space capsule that measures the capacity.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will not budge on his plans to introduce a 15 percent uniform VAT rate from July, but he might soften his stance on turnover tax. The Minister yesterday sat with two other ministers and a number of top business leaders to discuss the new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 at the secretariat. After the meeting, he said, “I told them two things: the new VAT law will come into force from July 1 and the rate will be uniform [15 percent].”“But more discussion will take place. I admit there is apprehension about the new law.” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu were present at the meeting.
The government has again extended the deadline until April 23 for the registration of Hajj pilgrims for 2017.The decision was taken at a meeting between Religious Affairs Minister Principal Matior Rahman and leaders of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) yesterday.
India has liberalised rules for medical visas for Bangladesh nationals in an effort to further strengthen people-to-people ties between the two countries. From now on, Bangladesh nationals visiting India for diagnosis will also be eligible for medical visas, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka yesterday.
American public-and private-sector firms’ interest in Bangladesh’s burgeoning energy and power sector is said to be ‘growing day by day’. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia S. Bernicat said this when she called on State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid yesterday. She said some giant companies like Exelerate, SunEdison, and GE are interested to work in Bangladesh, noting that American firms intend to work in Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector as well.
– Press Wing London, 18 April 2017