The entire mechanism of the government is taking action against corruption. The cabinet secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain commented that there is no precedence that the government released him after the corruption was proved.

He said this in response to a question from journalists at the briefing after the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Monday (July 1).

Cabinet Division Secretary said, no sympathy will be shown with corruption. Not everyone commits corruption. Actions are being taken against those who are corrupting the government.

At the time, he said that the Prime Minister asked to maintain transparency and accuracy in the implementation of the budget. Since the budget has been passed, the Prime Minister has directed to focus on its proper implementation.

The Secretary said that the draft of export policy 2024-27 has been approved in the cabinet meeting. 3 years export policy, new policy upon expiry. In order to increase the importance of 3 new issues, the Prime Minister said.

He said, Bangladesh will lose some special benefits if it is a developing country, so importance has been given to several issues. Importance should be given to the export of vegetables, fruits and vegetables in the international market. At the same time, the Prime Minister has urged to increase the quality of domestic products and provide assistance to increase the production and export of electronic devices.

The cabinet approved the proposal to set up a company for the maintenance of Padma Bridge. Tk. One thousand crore will be the initial capital of this company. 

Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud told the Parliament that the United States has never given duty-free and quota-free facilities for the export of garment products from Bangladesh to that country.

The Foreign Minister gave the information in response to a written question by Member of Parliament Md. Mujibul Haque during the 2024-25 fiscal year budget sessions in the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday (July 1). Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury presided over the session.

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that the United States has never provided duty-free and quota-free facilities for the export of garment products from Bangladesh to that country. However, the import duty rate imposed on garment products is uniform for Bangladesh and other competing countries in light of WTO MFN policy. Even while Bangladesh was under the US GSP facility, garment products were excluded. Without this advantage, the United States has become the single largest market for Bangladesh's garment exports through open competition. The United States has not yet reintroduced its GSP regime since its expiration in December 2020. Diplomatic efforts on the part of the government to include Bangladesh in the GSP facility when it is reopened and in that case to bring garment products under the GSP are also ongoing.

He said, Bangladesh-US Annual Trade Dialogue (TICFA) also raises this demand on a regular basis. In addition to this, the Bangladesh government has also raised the demand for duty-free access to the US market for garments and textile products made with cotton purchased from the United States. It should be noted that no country has any special regional agreements/assistance programs such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) for the Caribbean States or the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for the Sub-Saharan States or any special arrangements or Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Garment products generally do not enjoy duty-free export to the United States.

Md. Mujibul HaqueMP asked the Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud to know - Among the principles of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1) maintaining friendly relations with foreign countries including neighboring countries; (2) To attract foreign investment and ensure duty-free and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products to the world market. Bangladesh ranks 2nd in the production of garment products in the world.

The National Parliament passed the budget for the new financial year (2024-25) on Sunday (June 30). The budget changed the duty rates on some goods and services to reduce inflation. There was supposed to be a change in the prices of these things after the budget was passed. But on the first day of the implementation of the budget, there was no effect of reducing the prices of those products.

Especially in this year's budget, the prices of those products, including rice, edible oil, sugar, milk powder, chocolate, etc., on which the duty has been withdrawn, have not yet been affected. The sale is going on at the previous price.

According to traders, there will be no impact on prices until new products are introduced in the market. And the common people say that if the price of the product decreases in the budget, it takes time to implement it, if the price increases, the traders implement it the next day.

Going to the market physically, it can be seen that the prices of all kinds of daily products in the market of the capital are still rising. The lower and middle class have no comfort in this high-priced market. Fish-meat, vegetables are not available to common people.

Anik Debnath works in a private bank. He has come to the Karwan bazar to do the weekly market. He told Barta24.com that if the price of goods increases in this country, it does not decrease. Government people don't come to the market anymore, how will they see the condition of the market. After the budget was passed yesterday, I wonder if my salary will increase. It will not increase.

The prices of daily necessities are skyrocketing. Especially the prices of potatoes, onions and eggs are high. Meanwhile, the price of vegetables has also increased depending on the quality. Potatoes are being sold at Tk. 60 per kg in this market. The price of onion has exceeded Tk. 100. Local onion is selling at Tk. 95 to Tk. 110 and Indian onion is selling at the same price.

Papaya is being sold at Tk. 50, Borbati is being sold at Tk. 100, Carrot is at Tk. 120 and Cucumber is being sold at Tk. 80. Apart from that, saffron is being sold at Tk. 50, gourd is selling at Tk. 60 per kg, brinjal is being sold at Tk. 60 to Tk. 80 depending on the quality.

Nazirshail rice Tk. 75 to Tk. 80 per kg, BR-28 Tk. 55 to Tk. 57. Paijamas are being sold at Tk. 54 to Tk. 56, miniket rice at Tk. 68 to Tk. 70. Coarse rice is being sold at Tk. 48 per kg. Milk powder is being sold at the previous price.

Iqbal Hossain, a grocery shopkeeper in Karwan Bazar, told Barta24.com that the budget will reduce the price of food products. If reduces is as much a relief to the buyer as it is to the seller. But so far the companies have not given new products. Then I will understand how much the price has decreased.

Vegetable seller Nuruzzaman told Barta24.com that the market is the same as before. Although the budget was passed on Sunday, there is no impact on today's market.

Shafiqul Islam, a private employee, lost his temper because the price of daily commodities was not reduced in the budget. He told Barta24.com that not only the prices of daily commodities have increased in the market. Everything from house rent to water and electricity bills has gone up. Only our salary did not increase.

Shafiqul complains that the prices are increased for the sake of the world market, but when the prices in other countries of the world are reduced, the prices of things that have increased once do not decrease in our country.

When asked whether the budget had any effect on the vegetable market, the seller Abdul Mannan said that there was no effect on the vegetable market after the budget was passed. If something is imported then the price goes down. The price of vegetables fluctuates daily because it is a raw material.

Parliament passed a budget of Tk. 7 lakh 97 thousand crore yesterday. This year's revenue target has been fixed at Tk. 5 lakh 41 thousand crores. And the deficit has been estimated at Tk. 2 lakh 56 thousand crores. The government has set a target of bringing down inflation to 6.5 percent in the budget of the fiscal year 2024-25 due to the increase in daily commodities. Finance Minister said that some special steps have been taken for this.

All the students turned the tassels on their caps from right to left as they were declared graduates. They then held their degrees high, threw their caps into the air, catching them with joy, hugging each other as the hall filled with cheers and rounds of applause. The sound of camera clicks was constant as everyone wanted to capture the moment. Thus, the commencement of the Class of 2024 of Washington University of Science and Technology (WUST) ended. Before that, a total of 213 students from WUST received their degrees in Bachelor's and master's, with 55 from the School of Business and 158 from the School of Information Technology.

The event, held at the Alexandria City High School auditorium, was graced by the presence of state leaders and community dignitaries. Gerry Connolly, U.S. Representative, was the keynote speaker, while Karen Keys-Gammara of the Virginia House of Delegates was among the distinguished guest speakers. Abubokor Hanip, the chancellor and board chairman of the university, gave a welcome address, and university president Dr. Hasan K. Burk officially conferred the degrees and delivered the vote of thanks and concluding remarks.

Gerry Connolly emphasized the importance of technology education and congratulated all the graduates on their achievements. He urged them to contribute to society as they join the most educated part of the United States, Northern Virginia, where two-thirds of the adult population have a bachelor’s degree and more than 30% have an advanced degree, twice the national average. Mentioning the relevance of STEM degrees, the U.S. Representative highlighted the use of technology knowledge to overcome challenges such as climate change, pandemics, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and cybercrimes. "We should ensure the use of technology for good, not for malign purposes," he said.

Engineer Abubokor Hanip, in his welcome address, emphasized the importance of adaptability and urged the students to embrace challenges, overcoming them with the knowledge, values, and qualities they gained from Washington University of Science and Technology.

"You are not just graduates; you are leaders, innovators, and change-makers," he inspired them.

Sharing his own story of struggle to success, the Bangladeshi-American technology education entrepreneur told the crowd how he has contributed to changing the lives of at least 25,000 people and their family members through skill development and providing opportunities within the American mainstream and around the world.

Ms. Karen Keys-Gammara of the Virginia House of Delegates shared a story from her childhood, describing how her father taught her the value of lifelong learning through simple lessons like doing sit-ups. She urged the graduating students to keep striving to achieve new goals each day and to serve their community.

CFO Farhana Hanip shared her challenging journey in the USA, emphasizing how she overcame obstacles by holding onto her belief in herself and her dreams. "I turned adversity into opportunity, balancing my responsibilities as a mother while pursuing my aspirations," she said.

Throughout the ceremony, the graduates also heard from several notable figures, including Sheikh Rahman, State Senator from Georgia; Saddam Azlan Salim, State Senator from Virginia; Dr. Hussain Bhuyan, Director of HDD Group, China; Mr. Siddique Sheikh, WUST Board Member; Mrs. Farhana Hanip, WUST CFO; Mr. Mohammad Mahdee-uz Zaman, WUST Board Member; Dr. Saiful Khandaker, CEO and Founder of Fintech Ecosystem Development (Nasdaq: FEXD); Mr. Nasirul Huq, WUST Board Member; and others.

Each of the speakers congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to pursue their future goals and the American dream with perseverance, patience, and passion.

Two valedictorian graduates, Carlos Israel Moreno Hernandez and Zenifer Afroz Chowdhury, highlighted their journeys with WUST, attributing their success to their dedication. Both top students from the School of IT and School of Business praised their faculties and the school administration for smoothing their learning paths and providing supportive care.

Later, each of the 213 students received their degrees one after another amid cheers and applause. Professor Apostolos Eliopoulos, Director of the School of IT, and Dr. Mark Robinson, Director of the School of Business, handed out the degrees to the graduates from their respective schools.

Dr. Hasan Karaburk took over the microphone to officially declare all the students graduated and to complete the formalities. He thanked all the members of WUST leadership, faculty members, and officials, emphasizing the value of the teamwork that thrives at Washington University of Science and Technology.