Unease grips Bangladesh amid protests in civil administration over interim government's policies
NEW DELHI: A sense of unease intensified in Bangladesh overnight amid protests in the civil administration and the business sector over policies of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
The mass circulation Prothom Alo newspaper carried a report headlined "protests in the secretariat, NBR turned dysfunctional, Nagar Bhan under lock and key" referring to an ongoing demonstration of government employees against a proposed law involving government employees service, protests of officials of national revenue board and the employees of Dhaka South City Corporation.
A prominent business community leader, Showkat Aziz Russell, meanwhile, said businessmen in the country were being killed just like the intellectuals in the 1971 Liberation War. He warned of famine-like situation as more people become jobless.
"We don't know how we will pay bonuses and salaries to workers ahead of Eid-ul-Adha," said Russell, who is the president of Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association (BTMA), at a joint press conference of business chambers.
He told the press conference, co-hosted by the apex Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), that in the last eight months, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority had failed to bring in a single investor.
"You are inviting foreigners to invest in the country... (but) foreigners know that investment in Bangladesh is not viable. They know Vietnam is more profitable than Bangladesh," Russell said.
Government employees, meanwhile, for a second consecutive day staged protests inside the Bangladesh Secretariat, the heart of the administration, on Sunday against the proposed Government Service (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025.
The protesters have been demanding its withdrawal, calling it a black law that made it easy for authorities to take punitive actions and terminate the government employees.
Chief Adviser Yunus's interim Cabinet approved the law last week and now awaits presidential assent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
ATMA 2025 Results declared on official website: Here's how to check your scorecard
The ATMA 2025 exam results have been announced, and candidates who appeared for the exam can now access their scorecards. The exam is crucial for admission into various management courses, and checking the result is a simple LINK HEREATMA 2025 RESULTS: HOW TO CHECKVisit the official ATMA website: [ Look for the link that says 'ATMA 2025 Result.'advertisementClick on the link and enter your login credentials (Application Number, Password).Your result and scorecard will appear. You can download it or take a printout for future scorecard will display your overall percentile score along with the sectional score for the ATMA exam. The result will help you understand your performance in the test, which plays a key role in getting into MBA DATES AND NEXT STEPSResult declaration date: The ATMA 2025 results were declared on the scheduled availability: The scorecard is available for download immediately after the result actions: Candidates should check the counselling and admission process with the specific institutes they are applying to, as the score plays a significant part in the selection
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Mint Explainer: Will Karnataka's new ‘welfare' mandate mess up the gig economy?
The Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Ordinance, 2025, which Governor Thawarchand Gehlot approved on 27 May, marks a major regulatory shift. It mandates that digital platforms—from food-delivery apps to ride-hailing platforms—contribute between 1% and 5% of each transaction to a state-run welfare fund. This is aimed at improving protections for gig workers across the board. But what will this additional cost mean for platforms, gig workers, and consumers, and will it hamper the state's gig economy? Mint explains. Will platforms pass on the cost to consumers? Legal and policy experts said the cost was likely to be passed on to consumers. Platforms already charge users various fees over and above the cost of the service, including service fees, platform fees and delivery charges. This welfare fee could be included as a separate line item or as a general price hike, depending on what's more palatable to customers. 'In India, the burden of regulatory costs is almost always passed on to consumers, even when the intended impact is minimal. Unfortunately, the state has not taken any responsibility on its own shoulders, unlike the EU," said Ajai Garg, head of digital tech & law, Anand & Anand, and senior advisor at Koan Advisory. Also read: Indian gig workers who offer mobility services deserve GST relief However, platforms also need to remain competitive. Significant price hikes may provoke a consumer backlash, especially given the myriad fees already layered in to the final price. 'If the entire welfare cost is passed on to the end consumer through significant price hikes, it could trigger adverse reactions. Ultimately, consumers will likely feel the pinch immediately, which may impact their willingness to continue using the service, resulting in disruptions to the overall customer base and market sentiment," said Anshul Prakash, partner, Khaitan and Co. None of the major gig platforms—Uber, Ola, Rapido, Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto—responded to Mint's queries. What happens to platforms that use a software-as-a-service (SaaS) or zero-commission model? Not all platforms have the same revenue structure. Those that don't charge commissions, and instead use SaaS models in which gig workers pay a subscription fee, may look to raise those fees instead. Platforms that do collect commissions on every transaction could increase those slightly. 'Platforms will likely adjust their commission or subscription models, depending on their operating structure," said Garg. Could platforms absorb the cost themselves? In theory, platforms could absorb the additional cost, but experts said that was unlikely. 'Aggregator platforms need to focus on margin retention. That means any cost tied to each transaction is likely to be passed on through small price increases," Prakash said. This puts platforms in a tough spot. Many have already seen growth slowing in mature sectors such as food delivery, and now rely on high-growth verticals such as quick commerce to offset losses. Any dip in margins may affect their long-term viability. Also read: Is quick commerce eating into the food delivery market? 'This is going to be a tough balancing act, especially given that most of the growth in recent times has been limited to one or two kinds of platform work (quick commerce, for instance), while the older ones (such as food delivery) have not seen exponential growth," said Sowmya Kumar, partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. What about worker contributions and compliance? The ordinance says gig workers must also contribute to the welfare fund, but offers no clarity on how or how much. This ambiguity makes implementation harder and opens the door to disputes. 'The ordinance specifies a 1-5% of welfare fee but doesn't explain how the actual percentage of contribution by aggregators will be determined. The structure of worker contributions remains unclear," said Prakash Gupta, lead, Centre for Inclusive Mobility at OMI Foundation, a policy research think tank in Delhi. Also read | Tip us first: Why new Uber push faces government ire Platforms will also have to invest in registration systems, fee payment tracking, and potentially algorithmic transparency mechanisms, especially if the rules mandate disclosure of how gig workers are assigned jobs or rated. With draft rules expected in the next two weeks, Karnataka, which has more than 800,000 gig workers, could soon set a precedent for other Indian states, provided it doesn't disrupt its own gig economy in the process.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
IIT Bhilai signs MOU with France's IMT Nord Europe for joint UG, PG degrees initiatives
The Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai (IIT Bhilai) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Institut Mines Telecom (IMT) Nord Europe to foster international academic and research partnerships between India and France. Prof. Rajiv Prakash, Director of IIT Bhilai, signed this agreement on behalf of IIT Bhilai and the Office of International Affairs at IIT Bhilai. The agreement is formalised to advance joint actions in matters of reciprocal interest between IMT Nord Europe and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhilai. The parties have signed this agreement, which seeks to promote bidirectional cooperation links that contribute to the objectives of both institutions and, at the same time, allow them to contribute to the educational, social, and cultural development of the territories. Under this agreement, undergraduate and postgraduate students from IIT Bhilai will have the opportunity to study in France and earn joint degrees, thereby gaining invaluable international exposure. The collaboration will focus on several key areas, including Mechanical Engineering, Polymer and Composite Materials, Mechatronics, and Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence, as mentioned in the press release. Meanwhile, the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) and the Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) have been conducting counselling for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other institutions. While JoSAA is responsible for conducting counselling for IIT admission and for the NIT+ system (NIT, IIIT, etc), CSAB conducts counselling only for the NIT+ system. JoSAA will be regulating the joint seat allocation for admissions to 127 institutes for the academic year 2025-26. This includes 23 IITs, 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs, and 46 Other-Government Funded Technical Institutes (Other-GFTIs). The registration and choice filling for JoSAA round 1 counselling will begin on June 3. The seat allocation process through JoSAA would involve six normal rounds. After this, the CSAB will conduct two special vacant seat filling rounds for the NIT+ system. The official website for JoSAA counselling is For more details regarding the seat allocation process for NIT+ System through special rounds, candidates can visit the CSAB-2025 portal,
