The Happy Planet Index 2016 has ranked Bangladesh 8th among 140 nations, ahead of all the South Asian countries. Country’s wellbeing and life expectancy scores stay in a moderate level yet they are significantly higher than those of countries with similar levels of GDP per capita. In the issue of ecological footprint, the country has been put in the second spot in the world, given that remarkable achievements being achieved in keeping the environmental impact at a marginal level, stated the report, as released by the UK based New Economics Foundation (NEF).

HPM Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has proved it is more capable than others of facing terrorism and militancy by taking prompt actions. In reference to the recurrence of terror incidents in different parts of the world, she reaffirmed that her country has proved it's more capable of countering such social menaces than others by taking prompt actions. At her directives, security and surveillances have been beefed up while a mass awareness campaign against terrorism has been given a strong impetus.

History was set in motion this week when a team of female troopers joined their works at Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Lauded by a number of experts, this move has been deemed as a watershed moment in the empowerment of women inside the country, especially in the defence and security sectors. Having a female Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in charge, the country has seen a growing rise in the participation of women in almost every sectors stretching from education to armed forces over the space of last few years.

The Dutch ambassador to Bangladesh expressed satisfaction over the government's security measures in response to the recent militant attacks in Dhaka and Kishoreganj. Ambassador Leoni Cuelenaere expressed confidence that the government is making progress in securing the country, crediting the present government for raising awareness among the public. Moreover, global buyers of RMG have also echoed the same view on the recent security measures and announced to continue with the partnership with the government.

Growth and Development

With the goal to make Dhaka city free of water- logging, plans have been laid out to develop a good sewerage system so that lives of the city dwellers should not be affected. The issues of recovering city's canals and water-bodies that were occupied illegally, dredging the rivers surrounding Dhaka and building a planned drainage system for the city will also be incorporated in the master-plan. Such a step comes at a time when a plethora of new civic services have been introduced to improve the condition of the city.

The government has taken all out measures to evacuate people affected by floods along with relief operations in massive scale in the flood hit 59 sub-districts of 16 districts. The government, meanwhile, released Taka 5.50 crore and 13,000 tonnes of rice for the flood affected districts. Under the relief operation, the government has released 13,000 packets of dry food out of total allocation of 18,000 packets along with cash and food grains for the flood affected people.

POWER AND ENERGY

The government has approved proposals to build three new power plants with an aim to change the course of national progress, as envisaged by the HPM Sheikh Hasina. Of the three, one will be built in Khulna under a joint venture undertaken by two Chinese companies while works for the other, to be built in Sylhet, are underway owing to a multifarious cooperation between companies from Bangladesh and Japan. The third one- a 200 MW solar plant- will be constructed in Gaibandha.

Trade and Investment

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has unveiled a roadmap to attain $50 billion export earnings by 2021 from the apparel sector. The roadmap will concentrate on the priority and required activities that should be done to achieve the goal. The roadmap titled "Bangladesh RMG Roadmap: Targeting US$ 50 Billion Export by 2021" has been jointly prepared by RMIT University of Australia and BGMEA and was unveiled in Melbourne this week.

International and Regional Cooperation

Bangladesh and Cambodia are willing to explore the bright prospects for tourism between the two countries as officials from the two countries stressed the need for cooperation in the sector. The issue came up for discussion when Ambassador of Cambodia (resident in New Delhi) to Bangladesh Pichkhun Panha met Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the residence of the Foreign Minister on Wednesday. They discussed the ways and means to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two friendly countries. Cambodian Buddhist tourists can visit many historic Buddhist heritage cites in Bangladesh.

Digital Bangladesh

Government has eyed to open internet-based shops (e-shops) at district level to expand e-commerce service across the country. To this goal, works for implementation of a 12-month project named e-shop has already been put in place since October last year. A marked progress is achieved in developing e-commerce sites while establishment of a strong connectivity among sub domains across 64 districts will give taste of internet-based business among the mass for the first time in the country.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) inaugurated a Digital DNCC App - Nogor, for ensuring quality service and enhancing security of its dwellers within a short time. Through the app anyone can place complaints directly to the DNCC authorities by taking photographs of the roads, lampposts, garbage, illegal occupations, or corruption, which will be automatically sent to them and will be displayed on a digital board at the offices of DNCC.