In a historic verdict, the High Court of Bangladesh has ruled that a mother can now be the sole legal guardian of her children. On 24 January 2023, the HC delivered the verdict that says it will be sufficient if students mention their mothers' names when filling out a student information form (SIF) for examinations, and they cannot be forced to mention their father's names against their will. From now on, one can enter the name of the mother or any other legal guardian in all kinds of government documents including passports and forms to get education certificates. The HC ruling is being lauded for numerous reasons. Not only it ensures constitutional rights but also it paves a way for women's empowerment. Over the space of last 13 years, the able leadership of Honourable Prime Minister (HPM) Sheikh Hasina has put forward a remarkable transformation in women empowerment, a core commitment by Awami League.

The Universal Pension Management Bill, 2023 was passed in the National Parliament aiming to include citizens aged between 18 and 50 in a pension scheme. According to the bill, "Every citizen at the age of 60 will get Tk 34,000 monthly, after monthly deposit of Tk 500 from the age between 18 and 50 and when they deposit Tk 1000 will get monthly Tk 64,000." A person will have to pay premium for at least 10 years to get pension from the age of 60 until death. The amount of premium will be determined by a rule to be formulated under the proposed law. If an elderly person dies before the age of 75, the nominee will get the pension for the remaining period. This initiative stands as a shining testament to HPM Sheikh Hasina’s principal stance of leaving no one behind that resulted in a record high rise in social safety scheme.

Impressed by Bangladesh’s remarkable economic turnaround, World Bank Managing Director for Operations Axel van Trotsenburg reaffirmed the World Bank’s strong support for Bangladesh to help achieve its vision of upper-middle income status by 2031. He made the comments on a three-day visit, marking the 50 years of partnership between the World Bank and Bangladesh. “It has tackled many development challenges in remarkable ways. It has reduced poverty in record time and has played a leading and innovative role in disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change,” said WB top boss. During the visit, he also met the finance minister, senior government officials, and development partners and discussed Bangladesh’s development priorities. He was accompanied by World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region, Martin Raiser.

The disbursement of rural credit for agriculture has increased by 13% as the government lays emphasis on domestic production to deal squarely with food and economic problems. In order to boost the production in agriculture and SME sector the government has been announcing refinancing scheme one after another. To this end, the Bangladesh Bank has also given special instructions to banks to increase investment in agriculture sector. Following the Bangladesh instructions, banks have now increased their investment in agriculture sector. According to media reports, banks have already disbursed 53.93% of the total target of loans in the first six months of the financial year.

With around 88% percent work of the under-construction Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park has been completed, employment opportunities opened up for around 14,000 youths, both male and female, in Rajshahi. There are two portions- Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building and Sajeeb Wazed Joy Silicon Tower- in the park. As of now, 10 companies have so far been allocated spaces in Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building, while seven others in Joy Silicon Tower. At present, around 400 youths are engaged in various works, including software development, site maintenance of famous companies and file works as per demand from abroad, generating working atmospheres in the park.

The volume of bilateral trade between Bangladesh and South Korea crossed the $3 billion mark for the first time in the year 2022. According to the South Korea International Trade Association (SKITA), the bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached $3.035 billion in 2022, which was 38.71% up from the previous year's $2.188 billion. According to media reports, the country’s apparel export to South Korea saw a 35.66% growth to $255.49 million in July-December of 2023 FY, while it was $188.33 million in the same period of 2022 FY. Other potential Bangladeshi products that have good demand in South Korea are non-leather footwear, home textiles, jute and jute products etc.