BPC's New System

New system inside BPC May make NBR's task easy.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) intends to launch a smart fuel distribution system. Successful implementation of this system means timely distribution of fuel and greater transparency in fuel transaction. Being the largest corporation of Bangladesh, BPC activities mean a lot to the govt. (For more read "Smart Fuel Distribution Chalu Korte Chai BPC(BPC Wants To Start Smart Fuel Distribution)", Sanchita Shitu,Bangla Tribune,May 23,2024.Link:https://tinyurl.com/shjbnct4)

Since 2015,BPC made huge profits and it continued till 2021.In this period, govt provided zero subsidy to BPC.Prior to 2015,huge subsidy was given to BPC. In 2013,govt gave a subsidy of Taka 13.557 billion to BPC. This unravels the subsidy pressure on govt. Luckily, monthly fuel price adjustment eases the pressure a lot. But is it enough to rescue the BPC?

BPC automation software has long been a topic of debate. Few years ago, a report divulged that BPC developed a software but faced overwhelming odds implementing the software as certain quarter delayed its implementation(For more read "BPC's 'Payment Automation' Launch Hits Snag" by Financial Express,June 24,2019.Link:https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/bpcs-payment-automation-launch-hits-snag-1561348071). Prior to the development of software, it took as long as 10 months to record a BPC transaction. That means BPC's legitimate transaction went out of official record from 10 months, ample time to make some fortune out of BPC money. Could anyone believe in a public corporation this kind of mockery was going on years after years?

BPC's transaction revenue is also a great deal of concern for the NBR. It gets huge amount of revenue from BPC's fuel sale. Real time transaction data means real time data on VAT. Lack of real time data allows other to keep NBR in the dark. Another news report divulged that Petrobangla earned huge interest by keeping money into several bank accounts while it owes Taka 220 billion to NBR. I touched the issues in my January piece titled "Economic Reforms: Morning Shows The Day"(for more read https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2024/01/economic-reforms-morning-shows-day.html?m=1). Both BPC and Petrobangla are large sources of VAT for NBR. Dedicated offices in these two corporations and real time data on VAT could provide relief to NBR in this time of meeting the revenue target.

Not only the BPC money but sometimes subsidized oil also goes off the radar. Two years ago a deadly fire accident in an internal container depot in Chattogram revealed that oil smuggled out of the country in disguise of other goods inside containers. BPC 's smart fuel distribution system hopefully curb the incidence of such practice. It is not clear whether the smart fuel distribution system is the same software automation or a completely new system. If it is the same thing then why does it take so long to implement it? If it is a new system then it will add another layer of security to the existing software automation of BPC and ensure that subsidized oil will not fall into wrong hands.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(26 mai--- 01 juin)

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Ma Semaine Gastronomique

Date	Petit déjeuner	Déjeuner	Dîner	Snacks,Sucreries,Boissons et Fritures
25	Riz,Omelette, Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Purée de banane verte et pomme de terre,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Purée de banane verte et pomme de terre,Soupe aux lentilles	---
26	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Pomme de terre bhaji,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Pianju(depuis restaurant),Pomme de terre bhaji,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz gonflé
27	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Pomme de terrw bhaji,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Soupe aux lentilles,Pomme de terre,Pianju(depuis restaurant)	---
28	Riz gonflé,Soupe aux lentilles avec pomme de terre	Riz,Purée de banane verte,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Purée de banane verte,Soupe aux lentilles,Pianju (depuis restaurant)	Cacahuètes
29	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Lait,Banane(depuis marché)	Riz,Pianju(depuis restaurant), Soupe aux lentilles	Riz gonflé
30	Pain,Pomme de terre bhaji,Banane(depuis marché)	Riz,Soupe aux lentilles,Omelette	Riz,Banane(depuis marché)	---
31	Pain,Pomme de terre,Banane(depuis marché)	Riz,Épinard d'eau	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Pangash	Riz gonflé

Mixed Reactions To Reform Programs

Blaming reforms for economic woe Leaves people confused without any clue.

As some reform programs are about to see the light, mixed reactions are being observed in the economy. Indices fell below 5000 points and daily transaction reached below Taka 4 billion at Dhaka Stock Exchange. Imposition of 15% gain tax is identified as the main reason. NBR is likely to put a 15% tax on over Taka 4 million capital gain in the stock market in a bid to meet the revenue target. The decision is indeed a good move as it will have less impact on ordinary people.In general,revenue will rise for the following reasons:

• Depreciation of Taka increases the taka amount of revenue.
• 15% tax on remittances and 15% gain tax on stock trading gain will have an impact on overall revenue generation.
• Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is installing a system to get real time data on transaction and payment. It will help getting VAT money from BPC in the quickest possible time. BPC VAT is one of the large sources of VAT revenue.(for more read "Smart Fuel Distribution Chalu Korte Chai BPC(BPC Wants To Start Smart Fuel Distribution)", Sanchita Shitu,Bangla Tribune,May 23,2024.Link:https://tinyurl.com/shjbnct4)
• Restructuring of existing tax slabs above the minimum taxable income (proposed to be fixed at Taka 500,000) will likely to boost revenue. Because subsequent slabs will likely to see higher taxes.
• Good harvest of winter paddy, low price of crude oil in international market and crawling peg exchange rate will put less pressure on resource allocation. Redirected resources to private sector will increase import and import duty,which registered an 11% growth till February this year.

While UAE imposed tax on outgoing remittances, a great deal of unease is seen here on the issue of remittance tax. Back in March this year,I penned a piece titled "Will Tax On Remittances Lower The Inward Flow?"(see the link: https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2024/03/will-tax-on-remittances-lower-inward.html?m=1)highlighting why such move will increase revenue. Universal applicability of the tax rather than targeting a sector will bring its success. Import duty,VAT are the examples. Imposition of such taxes does not shrink the volume of tradable goods in the economy, nor does it have any adverse impact on the economy. A quick look at the data on import duty and VAT over two decades will clear the point I like to make.

There is a lot of misinformation about the IMF programs on the public domain. All the blames of current economic situation are heaped on IMF program. And it is being presented as anti-people. But it is the IMF that first raised the issue about non-monetary use of $7 billion forex reserve money through a letter. The letter luckily got leaked in the press and everybody became aware of the true reserve situation, avoiding further unreasonable use of forex reserve. It is the IMF team that raised question about investment of pension fund into savings certificates that offer interest rate lower than the inflation rate. It is the IMF that prescribed to raise the ceiling of minimum taxable income to Taka 500,000. Monthly fuel price adjustment resulted in reduction in bus fare. [It is the IMF that objected inclusion of national savings certificates' (NSD) interest security spending( for more see the link:https://www.prothomalo.com/business/economics/vu79oq3bdn ).*]This clearly indicates reform programs are benefitting the people a lot and plugging the holes that keep nourishing a certain quarter at the expense of public money.

[*Update: This piece has been updated by me on June 01,2024 at 20:25 Bangladesh Standard Time (BST). Update includes IMF's objection on inclusion of NSD interest into social security spending.]

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(18 mai--- 25 mai)

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Ma Semaine Gastronomique

Date	Petit déjeuner	Déjeuner	Dîner	Snacks,Sucreries,Boissons et Fritures
18	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Ruhi,Epinard malabar	Riz,Ruhi,Epinard malabar	Toast biscuit
19	Khitchuri,Omelette	Riz,Ruhi,Soupe aux vigna mungo	Riz,Ruhi	---
20	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Poulet,feuilles de tige amarante	Riz,Poulet	---
21	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Petit poisson	Riz,Soupe aux lentilles	---
22	Pain,Lentilles avec pomme de terre	Riz,Petit poisson avec pomme de terre	Riz,Pianju,Soupe aux lentilles	---
23	Pain,Pomme de terre bhaji	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Soupe aux lentilles,Ruhi	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Soupe aux lentilles,Ruhi	Riz gonflé
24	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Pomme de terre	Riz,Pomme de terre,Soupe aux lentilles,Lait	---

More Policy Changes Are Coming

Some are concerned about the policy of gradualism, Adjustment must go on in the face of criticism.

Recently, a group of businessmen and representatives of bankers met with Bangladesh Bank governor to raise their concerns over ensuing issues after the policy rate hike and depreciation of Taka. They are worried because frequent policy rate hike and depreciation of taka raise their costs. Some news reports even claimed that governor assured them that policy rate would not cross 14%. It is true that interest rate hike and depreciation to some extent raise the cost. However, taka 7 depreciation also opens the door for making gains. Last one year, selling dollars was one of the means for banks to make profits. In that light, this and future depreciation make rooms for the businesses to make profits and covering the costs originated from the high interest rate. Those borrowed money from foreign commercial institutions will suffer. But as many houses preferred to retain their dollar earnings abroad ,which is the rational and smart thing right now given the domestic situations, they likely to gain more in the long run in the face of further depreciation. Keeping money abroad is not a matter of ethics or morality,but is a matter of survivability/staying fit for the business group. At home, the group has to procure dollar at higher rates plus the availability of the foreign currency is not guaranteed in times of need. In addition, interest rate below inflation rate,political uncertainty and subsidized exchange rate will weaken the financial position of the company. And in the long run govt may have to bail it out by providing public money. Keeping money abroad means its wealth stays secure as its dollar investment is earning interest/profit in dollars and it will gain later from depreciation of domestic currency. Plus it can ink long term debt deal, reducing risk on interest rate. It also has access to relatively cheap credit. It stays strong as a business group if it perks its wealth abroad. Those operate their business abroad using same business identity should not be subject to harassment. There is no worry as they will repatriate the money at a convenient time. But those channelled out the fund through shell companies or tax havens may have dubious intentions.

To get rid of foreign currency crisis, we need further policy adjustment. Pakistani rupee is depreciated 89% in the span of 5 years. Vietnamese dong is depreciated 10% in the same period. While Bangladeshi taka is depreciated only 40% in the last two years.Prior to 2022,policy rate was 6% in Pakistan. And now it has become 22.5%. But price levels are coming down and rupee is appreciating. In Vietnam, policy rate was 6.3% prior to 2019. Now it is 4.5%. One of the good thing about dong is it appreciated when interest rate was high and depreciated when interest rate was low. Currency responded to the market accordingly. In Bangladesh, policy rate was 6% prior to 2020. From 2021 to 2023 ,it was kept at 4.5%. And now it becomes 8.5%,which is likely to rise further. Both Vietnam and Pakistan are strong competitors of Bangladesh in the RMG sector. Pakistan and Vietnam's garments export to the US market grew in recent months. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's export saw a negative growth in the US in the last three months of 2023. That means we need more depreciation of taka to make our apparel items competitive in the US market.

Policy rate hike is a must to give investors a signal that policy rate is aligned with the inflation rate. Back in October last year,in a piece titled "Slow Alignment Costs Investment"(for more read https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2023/10/slow-alignment-costs-investment.html?m=1 ),I highlighted how slow policy adjustment has a negative effect on Internal Rate of Return based investment decision and political impasse affects payback period of the investment. In another piece titled "Could Bangladesh Get The Second IMF Credit Pack?" in September last year(for more read https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2023/09/could-bangladesh-get-second-credit-pack.html?m=0),I argued how slow policy adjustment holds back investment.When interest rate is sufficiently high,above the inflation rate, investors anticipate that future interest rate may be lower with the ease of inflation. So they embark upon taking investment project.

Continuing the policy rate hike is a must in the wake of Fed's decision to raise the interest rate further. While inflation is coming down, Fed's decision is to make dollar stronger than other currencies. Central banks,corporations hold US treasury bonds. In case of heightened geopolitical tension,many govts and corporations owned by rich individuals may ditch these bonds ,reading political stand taken by their governments. Higher policy rates will keep the treasury bond price low and will inflict heavy loss to the owner of the bonds if he intends to sell it. Many Chinese companies hold huge amounts of treasury bonds and they cannot sell their US bonds so easily if hostility between the two countries takes a virulent form. This situation is very likely to emerge after the US election. For a foreseeable future, Fed's rate will rise even if inflation eases in the USA. And to make taka stronger and avoid further capital flight we have to keep raising the policy rate.

I think the central bank should stay on its current trajectory. And giving any kind of assurance is like giving a wrong signal to the market because we still do not know with certainty what economic reality will be three months down the line.

সাবটাইপিং

Subtyping: এখানে এমন একটি function কাজ করে যা argument হিসেবে নেয় কেবল একটি নির্দিষ্ট type ও তার subtype কে। Object oriented programming এ এটি subclassing (inheritance) এর মাধ্যমে হয়ে থাকে।
উদাহরণে Nationality abstract class এবং তার subclass UK,Bangladesh, China এর সাহায্যে আমরা Demo class এর showNat() মেথডের মাধ্যমে নাগরিকত্ব দেখাতে চাচ্ছি। এজন্য এখানে Nationality'র object কে argument হিসেবে pass করা হচ্ছে। তারপর প্রযোজ্য subclass এর des() কে call করা হচ্ছে। C++ এ pointer arithmetic এর মাধ্যমে এটি করা হচ্ছে। এখানে Nationality base/abstract class এর des() কে virtual function () ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে যেন ভিন্ন ভিন্ন subclass এর object এর des() ভিন্ন ভিন্ন বার্তা/কাজ দেখাতে পারে। এখানে একই function des() কে call করলে বিভিন্ন subclass এর object অনুযায়ি এটি আলাদা আলাদা আচরণ করছে। এখানে n হলো একটি Nationality pointer object। এবং n নির্দেশ(point) করছে কোন একটি subclass এর object এর addressকে। কাজেই সরাসরি subclass এর object এর মাধ্যমে des() কে call না করে Pointer এর মাধ্যমে এটি করা হচ্ছে।

উদাহরণ(C++):
#include ‹iostream›
#include ‹string›
class Nationality{
public:
Nationality (){}
virtual std::string des()=0;
};
class UK:public Nationality{
public:
UK(){}
std::string des(){
return "British\n";
}
};
class Bangladesh:public Nationality{
public:
std::string des(){
return "Bangladeshi\n";
}
};
class China:public Nationality{
public:
China(){}
std::string des(){
return "Chinese \n";}
};
class Demo {
public:
Demo(){}
void showNat(Nationality *n){
std::cout«n->des();
}
};
int main()
{
China c;
Demo a;
Nationality * n=&c;
a.showNat(n);
Bangladesh b;
n=&b;
a.showNat(n);
return 0;
}

JavaScript যেহেতু type safe language তাই আমাদের এখানে compile time এ Demo class এ একটি Nationality object তৈরি করা হয়েছে,আর তারপর তাকে assign করা হচ্ছে showNat() এর argument কে । এরপর runtime এ যে object ই pass করা হচ্ছে তার des() এর বার্তা আমরা screen এ দেখতে পাচ্ছি। কারণ সব object ই Nationality class এর subclass।

উদাহরণ(JavaScript):
class Nationality{
constructor(){}
des(){}
}
class Bangladesh extends Nationality {
constructor(){super();}
des(){
return " Bangladeshi \n";
}
}
class Uk extends Nationality {
constructor(){super();}
des(){
return " British \n";
}
}
class China extends Nationality {
constructor(){super();}
des(){
return "Chinese\n";
}
}
class Demo{
constructor (){
this.s=new Nationality();
}
showNat(n){
this.s=n;
document.write(this.s.des());
}
}
var a=new Demo();
a.showNat(new China());
a.showNat(new Bangladesh());

কৃতজ্ঞতাঃ এই লেখা তৈরি করতে দরকারি তথ্য নেয়া হয়েছে Wikipedia, internet ও আমার তৈরি করা নানা program থেকে।
মন্তব্য ও যোগাযোগঃ mrh4478@gmail.com

প্যারামেট্রিক পলিমরফিজম

Parametric Polymorphism: এখানে function কে এমন abstract ভাবে লেখা হয় যেন function টি বিভিন্ন value কে argument হিসেবে নিতে পারে তাদের data type এর উপর নির্ভর না করে। উদাহরণে C++ এ template এর মাধ্যমে add() function টিতে যেকোন data type কে argument হিসেবে নেবার সুযোগ করে দেয়া হয়েছে। add() প্রথমে দু'টি integer কে argument হিসেবে নিয়েছে, পরে দু'টি string কে এবং শেষে একটি string ও একটি integer কে argument হিসেবে নিয়েছে।

উদাহরণ(C++):
#include ‹iostream›
#include ‹string›
class Demo{
public:
Demo(){}
template ‹class T›
T add(T a,T c){
return a+c;
}
};
int main()
{
Demo m;
int w=5,y=7;
//add(int,int)
std::cout «m.add(5,7);
std::string s="Hello, ",z="there!";
//add(string,string)
std::cout«"\n"«m.add(s,z);
//add(string, int)
std::cout«"\n"«m.add("May",13);
return 0;
}

JavaScript উদাহরণটিতে add() এ কোন template বা data type ব্যবহার করা হয়নি কারণ JavaScript একটি type safe language অর্থাৎ compile time এ এটি data type check না করে একেবারে run time এ check করছে। যার কারণে run time এ যাই add() এ pass করা হচ্ছে তাই সে screen এ দেখাচ্ছে।

উদাহরণ(JavaScript):
class Demo{
constructor(){}
add(a,c){
return a+c;
}
}
var m=new Demo();
document.write(m.add(5,7));
document.write(m.add("hi","there!"));
document.write(m.add("May", 13));

কৃতজ্ঞতাঃ এই লেখা তৈরি করতে দরকারি তথ্য নেয়া হয়েছে Wikipedia, internet ও আমার তৈরি করা নানা program থেকে।
মন্তব্য ও যোগাযোগঃ mrh4478@gmail.com

এড হক পলিমরফিজম

Polymorphism: এটি হচ্ছে একটি common interface যার মাধ্যমে বিভিন্ন ধরণের data type এর programming construct কে প্রতিনিধিত্ব করা যায়। সাধারণত: তিন ধরণের Polymorphism দেখতে পাওয়া যায় ,Christopher Stratchey এর ব্যাখ্যা অনুযায়ি:
•Ad hoc Polymorphism
•Parametric Polymorphism
•Subtyping
শুরু করা যাক Ad hoc Polymorphism দিয়ে:

Ad hoc Polymorphism: এটি এক ধরণের Polymorphic function কে নির্দেশ করে যা প্রয়োগ করা হয় ভিন্ন ধরণের data type argument এর উপর। অর্থাৎ এটি function overloading যা argument হিসেবে একেক সময় ভিন্ন ধরণের data type নিচ্ছে। উদাহরণে contact() function এ argument হিসেবে প্রথমবার string এবং আরেকবার string ও int data type pass করা হয়েছে। contact(string) function টি নাম দেখাচ্ছে আর contact(string,int) function টি নাম ও ফোন নাম্বার দেখাচ্ছে।

উদাহরণ( C++):
#include ‹iostream›
#include ‹string›
class Demo{
public:
std::string s;
int n;
Demo(){}
void contact(std::string name){
s=name;
std::cout«"Name: "«s«" \n";
}
void contact(std::string name,int phone){
s=name;
n=phone;
std::cout«"Name: "«s<<","«" Phone: "«n«" \n";
}
};
int main()
{
Demo a;
a.contact("ash",1230);
return 0;
}

উদাহরণ (JavaScript):
class Demo{
constructor(){}
contact(name,phone,ops){
this.s=name;
this.n=phone;
this.ops=ops;
}
show (){
switch (this.ops)
{
case 1:
return this.s;
case 2:
return this.s+" "+this.n;
default:
return " Sorry ,not defined!";
}
}
}
var s=new Demo();
s.contact("ash",1);
document.write(s.show());

কৃতজ্ঞতাঃ এই লেখা তৈরি করতে দরকারি তথ্য নেয়া হয়েছে Wikipedia, internet ও আমার তৈরি করা নানা program থেকে।
মন্তব্য ও যোগাযোগঃ mrh4478@gmail.com

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(11 mai--- 17 mai)

Cliquez pour voir/cacher

Ma Semaine Gastronomique

Date	Petit déjeuner	Déjeuner	Dîner	Snacks,Sucreries,Boissons et Fritures
11	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Gourde épineuse,Pomme de terre,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Gourde épineuse,Pomme de terre,Soupe aux lentilles	---
12	Pain,Sucre,Lait	Riz,Feuilles de jutte,Crevettes	Riz,Purée de pomme de terre	---
13	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Feuilles de tige amarante avec Tilapia	Riz,Feuilles de tige amarante avec Tilapia	Biscuit
14	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Sec Latya poisson,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,sec Latya poisson,Potato bhaji,Lentil soup	Biscuit
15	Pain,Soupe aux lentilles avec pomme de terre	Riz,Soupe aux lentilles avec pomme de terre,Épinard d'eau	---	Toast biscuit
16	Pain,Sec lait,Sucre	Riz,Gobie charmante,Feuilles de Jutte	Riz,Gobie charmante,Feuilles de Jutte	Toast biscuit,Biscuit salé
17	Riz,Potato bhaji,Soupe aux mungo vigna	Riz,Ompok pabda	Riz,Ompok pabda	Toast biscuit

BB's Twin Actions

Policy rate hike and depreciation Could improve the economic situation.

Bangladesh Bank at one fell swoop raised the policy rate by 50 basis points and depreciated Taka against the US dollar by Taka 7. The decision was taken at the last moment of negotiations between Bangladesh Bank and IMF to get the third instalment of $4.7 billion credit package. The decision is met with mixed reactions. Some argued it may increase the cost of borrowing money and doing business. Concerns are also raised over likely increase of prices of fuel and other essentials,resulting from latest round of depreciation.

Inflation in general is still around 10%(9.89% officially). Food inflation is much higher than that. But the policy rate now is 8.50%. That means real interest rate is -1.39%. So Bangladesh Bank has to raise interest rate further. Hopefully at the end of this month, there will be another hike in policy rate. Then in June when another Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) will see the light, we will surely see another rise in policy rate. The gradualism ,as I construed, is being pursued not to hurt the employment. Businesses and export-oriented industry depend on credit to finance their working capital. Many will simply shut operations, rendering millions of workers unemployed,if there is a drastic increase in policy rate. There will be a chaotic situation to handle. Moreover, this latest rise will also raise the deposit rate, drawing the idle money that lies outside the banking system. Federal reserve systems decision to continue the interest rate hike and Russian and Chinese billionaires dollar buying spree in the face dollar ban at home complicated the matter. Dollar deposit outside the country is more lucrative and rational right now. It is not right to blame the business groups indiscriminately for hedging their money abroad. In that light BB's policy rate hike is a must and it should be continued to make Taka deposit attractive.

My understanding is that the depreciation of taka was necessary to ease the pressure on printing money to finance development program and to meet the revenue shortfall. Now the central bank will sell the forex to banks at new exchange rate. If it sells $1 billion dollar from its existing reserve then it will bag Taka 7 billion from this transaction. Earlier this Taka 7 billion may be generated through artificial demand of issuing treasury bond or "devolvement ". But it is now generated through market mechanism. At the same time, bank stopped giving 2.5% incentives to remitters as the new exchange rate is pretty much in line with the market exchange rate. For $1 billion worth of remittances,central bank has to provide Taka 292.50 billion to remitters. So central bank does not need to inject this Taka 7 billion plus 292.50 into the economy. At the end of the year the figure saved will be much larger. This depreciation will stem future inflationary pressure. The pass-through effect on fuel price will be miniscule. On April 16, crude oil price was $85 per barrel. On May 10, it is $ 79 per barrel. That means in one month crude oil price is lowered by $6 per barrel,a 7% reduction. Bangladesh is pursuing a monthly market-based fuel price adjustment. Meanwhile, crawling peg requires weekly adjustment of exchange rate. Exchange rate will be adjusted 4 times in a month in the face of a monthly fuel price adjustment. This time we see a 6.36% depreciation. So 6.36% increase in the price of US dollar is largely offset by 7% reduction in oil prices. This clearly indicates that pass-through effect on fuel prices and related to other cost is negligible. Moreover, depreciation allowed government to increase its revenue target through import duties,which accounts a large part of revenue earnings. It will clearly augment Taka amount of revenue earnings and thereby increase revenues' percentage share of GDP. Depreciation throws cold water to foreign remittance houses' plan to make gains from appreciation of Taka that they stockpiled previously.I wrote a detailed piece back in November last year about it.(For more read "Exchange Rate Volatility:Policy Debacle Should Be Blamed",Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,November 17,2023. link:https://hoquestake.blogspot.com/2023/11/exchange-rate-volatility-policy-debacle.html?m=1 )

In December of 2023 and first three months of 2024,Pakistan witnessed growth in RMG export earnings. In January the growth was 10% and in February it was 19%.( For more read "Pakistan's Textile Export Up 3% YoY in March,Clock In At $1.3 Billion", Business Recorder,link:https://www.brecorder.com/news/40296824 ) During the last three months of 2023 Bangladesh witnessed negative growth in export earnings in the US market. Pakistan depreciated its currency to a great extent. It is reaping benefit from it. Luckily, delayed depreciation will bring back some export orders from our competitors and will help Bangladesh regaining its US market share.

The twin actions of Bangladesh Bank is a belated and much anticipated move. It is the high time to bring the economy back on track through much needed policy adjustment. Despite the criticism, this right move will correct some of the wrongs of the past and hold back government spending.

LA Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(04 mai --- 10 mai)

Cliquez pour voir/cacher

Ma Semaine Gastronomique

Date	Petit déjeuner	Déjeuner	Dîner	Snacks,Sucreries,Boissons et Fritures
04	Pain,Omelet	Riz,Air poisson,Purée de pomme de terre	Riz,Air poisson,Purée de pomme de terre	---
05	Pain,Sucré	Riz,Gourde pointu avec Air poisson	Riz,Omelette, Soupe aux lentilles	Toast biscuit
06	pain omelette	Riz,Gourde épinueuse avec Ruhi,Soups aux lentilles,Purée de pomme de terre	Riz,Air poisson,Soupe aux lentilles, Purée de pomme de terre	Riz gonflé,Toast biscuit
07	Riz,Lait, Banane	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Petite crevette,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Soupe aux lentilles	---
08	Riz,Banane, Lait	Riz,Purée de pomme de terre	Riz,Omelette,Purée de pomme de terre	Biscuit,Riz gonflé
09	Pain,Sucre	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Soupe aux lentilles	Riz,Épinard d'eau,Banane verte	---
10	Pain,Omelette	Riz,Haricot rouge avec,sec latya poisson	Riz,Lait,Banane	---

Allow New Mobile Operators

Allow new mobile operators to enter So that consumers feel much better.

Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is going to hold hearing on the services provided by telecom operators on May 8. Prior to national election, it successfully abolished the 3-day data pack and made 7-day the minimum validity period. It retains the 30-day and unlimited validity packs. Consumers, however, pay a higher price for new validity packs. In general, prices of all data packs increased. Many operators lost small duration clients ,but made significant gains in profits in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. News reports divulged that GrameenPhone earned Taka 13.38 billion profit in the first three months. Meanwhile, Robi earned Taka 1.70 billion profit during the same period. It is important to note that Telenor and Axiata merged their Asian operations. So both the operators should be treated as same.

I used Teletalk for a long time as it offered the cheapest service in the country. But one week after the national election, quality of its service deteriorated. After making complaints, I did not see any improvement and I switched to other operators. Prior to using Teletalk, I interchangeably used various operators ,depending on which one offered the competitive prices. Many operators offered insurance for mobile phones in case they got damaged or new phone devices along with their SIMs. Sometimes later I discovered that far too often my phone got dead. I needed to run to a mobile servicing shop to flush/reinstall the operating software. Most of the time this happened while using the service of an operator based in Egypt. Another time it happened with another operator that offered freebasics, free internet service offered by Facebook. After paying between Taka 3000 and 4000 as mobile servicing fee for fixing my hacked phone in the span of three years,I thought it was time to change my phone. Back then Teletalk offered the most attractive services. And in the last two years I did not have to run for mobile servicing. I do not want to blame the operators directly for the hacking of phones. When we use browsers or internet,developers with ill intentions may target the mobile phones and infect them with malicious add-ons or software. Sometimes deranged individual within an operator may do sabotage act. But with the Teletalk I didn't have this kind of experience. I lost telepoints,balance and uncarried data. On some occasions ,I got back missing telepoints and balance after complaining to the highest level. On some occasions, I didn't get back anything. The horrifying experience of mobile servicing forced me later to document every telephone service mishap happened to me and report back to proper authority including the BTRC. In the last two and half years ,I did not have to spend much as I was using the cheapest service offered by public telecom operator. Later I learned Teletalk network expansion had been mostly done with Chinese credit and it owes a lot of money to public company and other vendors. Government is planning to sell part of its share to make it profitable again. I think the merger between Telenor and Axiata did a lot of damage to the services offered by the operators. Both the operators, followed by others, offered the identical services at the same price after that merger. Nowadays operators make hefty profits by selling internet data. But as consumers we don't know how to measure the data we consumed. I wrote a detailed piece about mobile data packs few years back. So I don't want to highlight the issue any more. The point is allowing few more operators or selling new licenses to operators originating from countries with huge trade potentials could make the telecom market competitive again. If we allow availing the service of railway optical fiber network and satellite internet along with the license ,then more investors feel encouraged to step forward. Prior to election, a Telenor director in an interview with a local daily hinted to wind up their operations here. But few weeks ago GrameenPhone boss in an interview told they made a u-turn on that decision and decided to stay. It is a good news,otherwise we will see another round of increase in the prices of telecom services.

BTRC has to take fair share of the blame. It failed to stop the merger between operations of Telenor and Axiata here in Bangladesh. For more than a decade telecom operators remained top revenue source of the government. How could BTRC allow such merger inside Bangladesh? It directly affected the revenue earning in this sector. Look at the first three quarter of the profits of the two( or same) operators. BTRC should make a regulation about publishing details about unused data in a year. Because consumers pay for data but some data remain unused and do not carry forward. So they have right to know what the operators do with that data. This may fall into wrong hands or be used in wrong purposes. Operators should disclose what amount of data remains unused and what they do with that. I think it should be given back to consumers as bonus or special offers or to offer welfare services like free internet for education/social awareness/alleviating digital divide. Nowadays we see telecom, real estate regulatory bodies like RAJUK are being headed by military men. I completely oppose this practice as those who lack transparency and accountability could not call into question others integrity. In that light BTRC simply cannot charge operators Taka 10 for some of the data collection activities it intends to undertake. In some hearings BTRC survey report justified abolishing short duration data pack. Contrary to the survey report, many news reports divulged that many consumers were unhappy with such idea. In this case one may doubt that findings are predetermined. I think Parliamentary committee should be given the task to steer the activities of BTRC and anti-trust activities in telecom services. In functioning democracies, Parliament plays a greater role in such case. We know we have problems here but we should start the practice and rely less on men-in-fatigue. It is a surprise that many agencies failed to anticipate the biggest merger in the telecom industry that happened in Malaysia, where many former senior army personnel and their relatives took refuge. Look at the strategic ties with Qatar. Despite commitment of boots-on-the-ground, Qatar bluntly refused to sell LNG on deferred payment. And the decision of strategic ties with Qatar was taken by few sidestepping the Parliament. Let's come back to point. We need new telecom operators to give a relief to the consumers and to augment the govt revenue.

ফাংশন ওভারলোডিং

একই নামের function এ যখন একেক সময় অনেক ধরণের parameter ব্যবহার করা হয় তখন সেটিকে function overloading বলা হয়। যেমন আমরা এখানে কারো ঠিকানা/address এর জন্য একবার শুধু city আর আরেকবার city ও house দেখতে চাই। এজন্য adds() নামের একটি function এ আমরা city নামের একটি parameter আবার একই adds() নামের আরেকটি function এ city এবং house নামের দুইটি parameter দিতে পারি। parameter এর সংখ্যার উপর নির্ভর করে ঠিক adds() function এর argument/data গুলো screen এ দেখাবে show () নামের method/function। নিচে C++ এ function overloading এর উদাহরণটি দেয়া হল।

#include ‹iostream›
#include ‹string›
class Demo{
public:
std::string c,h;
Demo(){}
void adds(city){
this.c=city;
}
void adds(city,house){
this.c=city;
this.h=house;
}
void show(){
std::cout«this.c«" "«this.h«" \n";
}
}
int main(){
Demo s;
s.adds("Utoville");
s.show ();
return 0;
}

JavaScript এ function overloading কাজ করে না; কাজ করে function overriding। একই উদাহরণ JavaScript এ চালালে screen এ দেখা যাবে "Utoville undefined" বার্তা/text। কারণ হল দু'টি parameter সহ পরের adds() function এক্ষেত্রে প্রথম adds() function কে override করে কাজ করছে। আর তাই পরের adds() এর দ্বিতীয় parameter যা দেয়া হয়নি সেটিও undefined রুপে screen এ দেখা যাচ্ছে।JavaScript এ function overloading পেতে হলে একটু অন্য ভাবে কাজ করতে হবে। এখানে switch statement এর ব্যবহার দেখানো হয়েছে। adds() function টিতে ৩টি parameter c,h,ops দেয়া হয়েছে। ops হচ্ছে একটি integer argument যা parameter এর সংখ্যা নির্দেশ করছে। ops বা option এর সংখ্যার উপর নির্ভর করে show() ঠিক বার্তা screen এ দেখাচ্ছে। এক্ষেত্রে আমাদের ৩টি arguments pass করতে হচ্ছে আর কোন argument দেখাতে না চাইলে সেটি blank রাখতে হচ্ছে । আর এক্ষেত্রে কিন্তু আগেরবারের মত undefined দেখা যাচ্ছে না।

উদাহরণ:
class Demo{
constructor(){}
adds(c,h,ops){
this.c=c;
this.h=h;
this.ops=ops;
}
show (){
switch (this.ops)
{
case 1:
return this.c;
case 2:
return this.c+" "+this.h;
default:
return " Sorry ,not defined!";
}
}
}
var s=new Demo();
s.adds("Utoville","00", 2);
document.write(s.show());

কৃতজ্ঞতাঃ এই লেখা তৈরি করতে দরকারি তথ্য নেয়া হয়েছে Wikipedia, internet ও আমার তৈরি করা নানা program থেকে।
মন্তব্য ও যোগাযোগঃ mrh4478@gmail.com