The government has not yet made any decision regarding the allocation of dearness allowance (DA) for its officials and employees, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday. "We have not made any decision regarding the dearness allowance yet," he told journalists in response to questions about the ongoing deliberations, after a meeting of the Advisors' Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) at the Secretariat. When asked whether the government was reconsidering its stance on the DA, the finance adviser asked, "Who made the announcement about the dearness allowance? I don’t know who made the announcement. Once it comes to the Ministry of Finance, then we will decide whether to give it or not, and only then will we make the announcement." Make NBR more efficient for robust growth in business: Finance Adviser Sought comments on whether a proposal has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, Dr Salehuddin said, "We haven’t made any announcement yet. I have not made any decision yet." The Finance Ministry had recently prepared a draft proposal to provide a Dearness Allowance ranging from a minimum of 10% to a maximum of 20% of basic salaries for 1.45 million government employees. The proposal also included the recommendation to exclude the additional 5% annual increment for employees. According to the Finance Ministry’s calculations, implementing the DA would cost at least Tk 5,000 crore in a single fiscal year. Finance Adviser urges media to take positive stance on national issues To lower the expenditure, the proposal suggested giving a maximum of 20% DA to employees in grades 11 to 20, while those in grades 1 to 10 would receive either 10% or 15%. Should the DA for grades 1 to 10 be set at 10%, it would require over Tk 5,000 crore. If it were set at 15%, the cost would rise slightly to about TK 5,750 crore. The Finance Ministry has proposed to include this amount in the revised budget.

The government will import rice and LNG to meet the demands of the domestic market, it's been decided. The Advisors Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP), in a meeting with Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair, approved two separate proposals in this regard. As per a proposal, moved by the Ministry of Food, the Food Directorate will import 50,000 Metric Tons (MT) of non-basmati parboiled rice from India through an international open tender. Bagadiya Brothers Limited of India will supply the bulk rice at a cost of Tk 275.30 crore, with each kg at Tk 55.06. Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Minerals Corporation-Petrobangla will import one cargo of LNG from the international spot market through quotation. Excelerate Energy PLC of United States will supply the LNG cargo at a cost of Tk 752.50 crore, with each MMBtu at $15.69. After the meeting, Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters that the government will not bring any change in the duty structure of essential commodities until the end of the upcoming month of holy Ramadan which is expected to begin from March 1. No change in duties until Ramadan ends: Finance Adviser Responding to a question on ensuring adequate supply of essential commodities at affordable price during the Ramadan, the advisor said that the government had already imported chickpeas, lentils, and dates. The price of Soybean oil has come to a reasonable level. “If necessary, the government will take further measures in regard to the price of soybean oil”, he said. He said that the government has been giving priority on market monitoring. “The market monitoring has to be intensified. Only application of Consumer Protection Act is not enough to contain the prices”. He mentioned that the price of onion has already come down to Tk 40 per kg from Tk 200. In our country, prices of goods frequently go up and down while prices remain stable in developed countries.