Bangladesh is not in a crisis situation and its external position is "very different from several countries in the region," said Rahul Anand, division chief in the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department. The IMF official briefed on the current economic situation of Bangladesh in support of his stand during an online conference last week. Bangladesh's external debt is relatively low, close to 14% of GDP while the country has a low risk of debt distress and is very different from Sri Lanka, he added. "The IMF stands ready to support Bangladesh, and the staff will engage with the authorities on program design as per the established policies and procedures of the Fund," an IMF spokesperson said following the request by the Bangladesh government.

Children aged between 5 and 11 years (primary school students) will be vaccinated against Covid-19 at their respective educational institutions as part of the government’s effective vaccination scheme that already saw over 75% of the population vaccinated with free distribution for all. According to media reports, the country has as many as 22.2 million children aged between 5 and 11 years while those who are homeless or out-of-school are also included also. Under her watch, HPM Sheikh Hasina has led her country to become a top performer in Covid management scheme outperforming top neighbours.

The country’s export income grew 14.72% year-on-year to $3.98 billion in July, supported by a robust growth in apparel shipments while total merchandise exports stood at $3.47 billion in July last year. Data released by Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed that export performance in July this year surpassed the monthly target of $3.9 billion by 1.65%. This July, readymade garment exports surged by 16.61 percent year-on-year to $3.36 billion from $2.88 billion one year ago. Knitwear export increased by 11.80% to $1.85 billion from $1.65 billion, while woven garment exports rose by 23.11% to $1.51 billion from $1.22 billion and home textile exports grew a modest 3.89% to $95.95 million from $92.36 million.

Bangladesh mourned its founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and almost all members of the family killed in the Aug 15, 1975 carnage, the darkest chapter in the country’s history a short while after independence from Pakistan. Not only did Bangladesh lose the Father of the Nation in the massacre, but it also started a journey backwards, plunging into the darkness of Pakistan-style military rules, just four years after liberation. The killers – a group of rogue army officers – could not be tried because of an Indemnity Ordinance. Finally, when Bangabandhu’s Awami League party returned to power in 1996, with his daughter Sheikh Hasina at the helm, the government paved the way for the trial of the assassins.

Honouable Prime Minister (HPM) Sheikh Hasina has urged the countrymen to turn the grief of the loss of the country’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman into strength and engage themselves in building a non-communal, hunger-poverty free and prosperous Bangladesh by upholding Bangabandhu's philosophy. “Let's build a non-communal, hunger-poverty-free prosperous Golden Bangladesh as dreamt by Father of the Nation through reflecting the glory and ideals of his long-struggling life in our actions; this should be our firm pledge on this National Mourning Day," the Premier said in a message on the eve of the National Mourning Day and the 47th martyrdom anniversary of Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. "On this day in 1975, the Greatest Bangalee of all time, Father of the Nation and the then President Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members was brutally assassinated," she added.

In the wake of the global headwinds, the government, at the directives of HPM Sheikh Hasina , has announced to roll out a safety net scheme as it starts selling rice at Tk 15 per kg in a countrywide campaign under the Food Friendly Programme, or FFP, from September 1. Confirming that the government has an adequate amount of rice stockpiled for the rest of the year, the government has also decided to allocate two tonnes of rice instead of a single tonne to all 2,013 registered dealers under the open-market sales, or OMS, programme. Under the FFP scheme, which was launched in 2016, at least five million beneficiaries across the country can buy 30 kg of rice a month in March, April, September, October and November at the heavily subsidised set price. The government issues ration cards to the families for distribution.

Bangladesh is a vital crossroads in Southeast Asia. It borders India on land on three sides and has major ports in the Bay of Bengal. The country is also a part of the Asian Highway network, connecting 32 Asian nations to Europe, reports RealClearPolitics, in an article penned by Sajeeb Wazed, info tech advisor of HPM Sheikh Hasina. In June, Bangladesh unveiled the Padma Bridge to the world, further enhancing the country's connectivity. Located nearly 68km from Dhaka, the bridge links the southwest districts of Bangladesh to the rest of the country. The travel has been drastically reduced between Dhaka and major business centres in Khulna, Jashore, and Barishal.

Bangladeshi expatriates sent out $813 million in the first 10 days of August, while last month the upward curve of remittance inflow continued throughout July as Bangladeshi expatriates sent out $2.1 billion in the first month of the fiscal year with a 12.3% year-on-year rise. The remittances received through the banks last month were the highest in 14 months, surpassing the June inflow by 14.1%. The government raised the cash incentive for remittances to 2.5% from 2% to encourage expatriates amid concerns over the slump. It also eased the requirement for paperwork to send in any amount of money in a day.