Food crisis puts fauna at risk

Persistent food crisis has put the lives of more than 50 animals of different species in danger at Tengragiri eco-park in Taltoli of Borguna district.Local forest department authorities are trying hard to save the animals managing food for them on credit.For expansion of eco-tourism in the reserve forest of Tengragiri, the environment and forest ministry took some initiatives in 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscal years.The initiatives include building cages for deer, pigs and fishing cats, crocodile breeding centre, picnic spot, rest house and a 1200 metre walkway.Forest official sources said a total of Tk 2.63 crore has been spent in the two fiscal years for the works under the project titled ‘Enhancement of Eco-tourism Facilities’.Under the scheme, at least eight deer, 25 pigs, two fishing cats and three crocodiles were released in the Tengragiri echo park from January to March of the current fiscal year (2012-2013).But the government did little to ensure their treatment and food.Local UP member Salam said a good number of animals have become sickly for want of sufficient food and treatment.Yunus, chairman of Shonakata Union Parishad, said Tengragiri reserve forest is one of the best tourist spots of Bangladesh.So the government needs to take necessary steps to protect its animals.Forest department officials here said as they could not keep the animals starving, they buy foods on credit.The money will be paid after receiving fund from the government, they said.

Border areas in SW region see influx of Indian cattle

Different border areas of south-western region sees influx of Indian cattle, mostly cows, ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, the Muslim festival observed with sacrifice of animals.Although there is no provision for import or export of cattle between Bangladesh and India, unofficially a one-sided business is running between the two countries where Bangladeshis are buyers and Indians are sellers.The number sees gradual rise as both the parties find the business highly profitable while Bangladesh authorities ‘legalise’ a large portion of the virtually smuggled cattle through taking Tk 500 as customs duty.A total of two lakh 49 thousand 785 cattle were brought to Bangladesh in September this year and Tk 12 crore 48 lakh 92 thousand 500 was realised as duty while the number of cattle and duty realised in the same month last year were one lakh 29 thousnad 514 and about Tk 6.5 crore, said sources at customs offices in Jessore and Satkhira.In August this year, two lakh 26 thousand and 128 cattle were brought to Bangladesh and Tk 11 crore 30 lakh 64 thousand was realised for it.Custom sources said, in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2013-2014 from July to September six lakh 83 thousand 873 cattle were brought to Bangladesh and customs authorities earned Tk 34 crore 19 lakh 36 thousand 500 as duty. In the same period of fiscal year 2012-2013, the number of such cattle was three lakh four thousand 497 and Tk 15 crore 22 lakh 48 thousand 500 was earned as duty.The number of cattle brought in 2012-2013 and 2011-2012 fiscal years were six lakh 27 thousand 707 and seven lakh 60 thousand 24 respectively.South-eastern districts Satkhira, Jessore, Jhenidah, Meherpur, Chuadanga and Kushtia share border with India.Cattle are smuggled from India through hundreds of points across the 475 kilometre land border from Shyamnagar of Satkhira in the south to Daulatpur of Kushtia in the north, said sources of Border Guard Bangladesh.Authorities legalise a portion of the smuggled cattle taking Tk 500 as duty at 13 customs corridors including Basantapur, Kulia, Satani and Sonabaria of Satkhira, Navaron and Salkona of Jessore, Kusumpur and Bhairab of Jhenidah, Dariapur, Ujalpur and Bamundi of Meherpur, Karpasdanga of Chuadanga and Mohishkunda under Bheramara of Kushtia in south-western region.SM Shamsuzzaman, assistant commissioner of Jessore Customs Commissioner’s Office, said, “Cattle trade in bordering areas has risen to meet the huge demand ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Laxity about cattle smuggling in the Indian side of the border areas also contributes to the rise in the number of cattle coming from there.”

DSE to hold EGM on Oct 29, CSE on Oct 25

The Dhaka and Chittagong bourses will hold extraordinary general meetings this month to modify their Memorandum and Articles of Association in line with the approved demutualisation scheme.The Dhaka Stock Exchange will hold the EGM at Sonargaon Hotel on October 29, while the Chittagong Stock Exchange will organise the meeting on October 25 in Cox’s Bazar.The premier bourse took the decision at a board meeting on Wednesday and the port bourse yesterday.“At the EGM, decisions on the board’s size will be taken as per the approved demutualisation scheme,” said Ahsanul Islam Titu, president of the DSE.It means that the board size will come down to 13 from existing 25. Syed Sazid Hossain, chief executive officer the CSE, echoed Titu.Earlier on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission sent the approved demutualisation schemes to the bourses to implement the next step.Demutualisation is a way of separating the bourses’ management from ownership and also to bring transparency and accountability into the market. It will transform the two bourses from their current non-profit, co-operative state into profit-oriented entities.

Akij Food brings in German technology to produce juice

A growing demand for natural products has become a key driver behind the rise of high-tech systems in juice producing and packaging in Bangladesh.Akij Food and Beverage Ltd, a concern of Akij Group, is using an aseptic juice packaging and filling system to meet this growing demand for preservative- and germ-free juice.The company is the first in Bangladesh and the second in Asia to bring this technology from Germany, said Punya Bardhan Barua, executive director of Akij Food and Beverage.In aseptic processing, a germ-free product is packaged in sterile containers in a way that maintains high quality.“When we produce something, air gets into it. And air contains various microorganisms.” This makes the product risky for consumption, he added.“We are producing the Frutika brand mango juice using the aseptic technology and its quality does not deteriorate due to the germ-free process,” he said.It is produced through a vacuum filling system in which the entry of even less than one percent air will stop the entire production process and all the juice bottles in the production line will be drained out, said Abdul Maleque Khan, manager of the juice and mango project of Akij Food and Beverage.“Frutika juice does not contain any preservative and artificial colour, which helps maintain the pure fruit taste in the juice,” he claimed.Ahammad Ali Hasan, the company’s brand manager, said the juice industry is grabbing a significant portion of the market for carbonated drinks by producing a raft of products that are mild and digestible.“Our factory is open to all and we want to show our consumers how we ensure the best quality.”The company also gives high priority to how it collects mango and pulp. Pulping is done at the Chapainawabganj factory where mangoes are collected from the best mango gardens of the Rajshahi region, Hasan said.“We wash the bottles separately to eliminate germs.”

Govt moves to strengthen TCB

The cabinet yesterday decided to strengthen Trading Corporation of Bangladesh to enable the state-run entity to intervene in the market when the prices of basic commodities go too high.
The cabinet committee also agreed to allow the TCB to maintain a larger stock of goods to help offset any supply crisis in the domestic market.“The TCB will also export some commodities on a limited scale,” Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists after the regular meeting of the committee at the secretariat in Dhaka.The TCB can hardly intervene in any crisis due to a poor stock.The committee also decided to increase the number of directors at the board of the TCB to five from two now, the secretary said. Its authorised capital has been raised to Tk 1,000 crore from Tk 5 crore.In the meeting, the cabinet committee turned down the proposal of the Textile and Garment Industry Board Act-2013 and sent it for further review.The committee also agreed to increase the number of export trophies awarded to outstanding exporters, to 32 from 25, as the services sector will be included in the list this year.The committee approved a proposal of the housing and public works ministry to curb the authority of the local government bodies in giving approval to designs of multi-storied building as they do not have adequate capacity.For the construction of high-rise buildings outside RAJUK, CDA, KDA and RDA, the local governments like municipalities and upazila parishads will not be able to approve any project. The ministry will create a mechanism in this regard soon, Bhuiyan said.The government has also given the final approval to the brick construction and brick kilns establishment (amendment) law.

Tk 100cr for garment factory upgrade

The central bank has created a fund of Tk 100 crore with the assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve safety standards in the apparel sector.Factory owners will receive the loan from commercial banks at a maximum of 10 percent interest for rebuilding and relocating of factories and purchase of equipment.The commercial banks should keep the interest rate low, Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said at a programme at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka.JICA, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the housing and public works ministry signed a deal.The borrowers will have to repay the loan in 15 years with a grace period of two years, Bangladesh Bank said in a statement.JICA agreed to give the fund following the Rana Plaza tragedy, under its ongoing project worth Tk 400 crore for the development of small and medium enterprises, launched in May 2011.A technical team of JICA and engineers of the housing and public ministry will inspect the factories of loan seekers and estimate the costs, before the banks sanction the funds, said Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, senior programme officer of JICA.The highest limit of the individual loan is Tk 10 crore, according to the banking regulator.Bangladesh should adopt Japanese retrofitting technology to ensure worker safety, said Khondaker Showkat Hossain, housing and public works secretary.Retrofitting is the process of modifying something after it has been manufactured. For buildings, it means making changes to the systems inside the building or even the structure itself at some point after its initial construction and occupation.Japan wants to be more involved with Bangladesh, said Shiro Sadoshima, Japanese ambassador. “We want cooperation from the public and private sectors.”Bangladesh is seriously working to address the workplace safety and rights of workers in the apparel industry, said Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA.Bangladesh should work seriously to maintain its sustainable economic growth, said Hiroyuki Tomita, JICA Bangladesh Office’s senior representative.The public and private sector should work together to achieve the highest economic growth, Tomita said.

Retailers’ group publishes list of factories to inspect

A group of around 90 global retailers yesterday published a list of more than 1,500 garment factories across Bangladesh that they will inspect to ensure fire and building safety.The 1,500 factories account for about a third of all garment units in the country’s $20 billion industry, and employ around two million workers, according to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.The group represents global giants including Hennes & Mauritz AB, Inditex SA, PVH Corp, and Benetton SpA.However, North American Alliance, another platform of 22 US-based retailers, is yet to come up with their list. They will inspect more than 500 factories. The government will survey the rest of the 5,000 factories in Bangladesh’s garment sector.The global retailers initiated the drive to inspect the factories that they use in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza building collapse, which claimed more than 1,100 lives in April.“These data points provide an unprecedented map of the Bangladesh apparel industry covered by the Accord,” the accord’s interim director Sean Ansett said in a statement.“[They] are playing a key role in prioritising factories for safety inspections,” The Wall Street Journal reported quoting Ansett.The publication of the list reflects a growing belief that the garment industry’s chronic safety problems can only be fixed through a group effort, Ansett said.Most factories take orders from multiple retailers. In recent months, retailers have found their calls for factories to fix their potential dangers are much more effective when they band together.The list includes information, pertinent to assessing building safety, some of which has never previously been disclosed in the apparel industry, the IndustriALL Global Union, the initiator of the accord, said in the statement.Key data points include factory name and address, the number of stories of each structure, whether a building includes multiple apparel factories and whether it houses other types of businesses, the number of workers and Accord signatories.Accord leaders note that additional data points will be disclosed as more information is gathered from signatories and that, with some companies that have joined recently still to disclose their lists, the total number of factories will grow, the statement added.Many garment orders in Bangladesh are illegally subcontracted to unauthorised factories, which are often not inspected for safety violations and workers’ rights abuses.Though many retailers have codes of conduct that prohibit unauthorised subcontracting, unions and workers’ rights groups say many subtly condone it because it allows them to get their products on time.

Bangladesh in for a fast ride to mid-income status

Bangladesh needs to grow rapidly through massive investment in infrastructure, skills development and trade logistics to become a middle income nation by 2021, the Asian Development Bank’s country head said.“Bangladesh needs to accelerate investment in diversifying the sources of growth and realising its economic growth aspiration,” M Teresa Kho, country director of the Manila-based lender, told The Daily Star in Dhaka on Wednesday.Her comments came as the bank celebrates its 40th year in Bangladesh tomorrow, basking in the glory of some of its stellar achievements, also being mindful of the challenges the country faces.“In the past four decades, ADB has become a long-standing development partner of Bangladesh,” said Kho.“ADB has always stood by the country and its people — whether during natural disasters as seen in 1991 and 1998 or global food price shock of 2008 or in the height of the recent global economic crisis.”ADB has always structured its activities in line with the needs of the country.In the 1970s, the bank was involved in rehabilitation and infrastructure, following devastation of the Liberation War. Programmes in agriculture and rural investment dominated its activities in the following decade.In the 1990s, the bank ventured into power and transport, along with industrial development and the financial sector. In 2000, the bank entered primary education and health and undertook investment in rural infrastructure.By the mid-2000s, the bank made a foray into the financial and capital market reform process.From June 1973 till the end of 2012, ADB provided 234 loans worth $14.1 billion and 389 technical assistance projects to support project design and capacity enhancement worth $221.7 million.The bank’s latest successes include implementation of the most successful solar home system in Bangladesh.With an initial target of 50,000 solar home systems, IDCOL’s (Infrastructure Development Company Ltd) programme installed more than two million by the end of March 2013.ADB provided $78 million to the programme, which financed the installation of 330,000 systems.In another major development, an ADB-supported project helped bring electricity from India — the first-ever power trade in South Asia.The bank lent $100 million on concessional terms to finance the transmission lines and high-voltage direct current substation components under the project worth $158.6 million.Since Bangladesh joined ADB in 1973, the power sector has received 32 public sector loans and one private sector investment, totalling about $2.9 billion, to improve the capacity and quality of power supply.
Although ADB could not get involved in the construction of the Padma Bridge project after the government pulled out of talks following much drama over a corruption allegation, the bank helped set up the existing largest bridge project in Bangladesh nearly two decades ago.ADB’s funding accounting for 22 percent of the cost of $962 million for the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge has lifted a million of people out of poverty and improved road and railway links connecting the impoverished northern part with the capital, according to an impact study.The bank’s assistance to education accounts for 9.32 percent of ADB’s total assistance to Bangladesh from 1973 to 2012, amounting to $1.28 billion.An MBA from Stanford University, Kho said the country’s achievement in the last four decades has been encouraging after starting as an independent nation in 1971 with an extraordinarily bleak prognosis.“The country successfully coped with these challenges and as a result, growth rates steadily moved upward. Economic growth has also been largely inclusive and broad based, with notable progress in poverty reduction.”“Food production kept pace with the population growth. Population control progra-mmes helped in slowing down population growth, income per capita rose significantly in real terms, and poverty fell sharply coupled with improved life expectancy, higher literacy, and lower mortality.”The ADB country chief, who has been with the bank since 1997, is also impressed by Bangladesh’s achievement in most of the millennium development goals.“Bangladesh’s achievement in the economic and social indicators has been quite remarkable.”“More importantly, the proportion of population living below the poverty line has gone down below 31.5 percent.”ADB has finalised its priorities for the country from 2014 to 2016, she said. In the three years, the bank would invest more in energy efficiency, railway connectivity, secondary education skills, and furthering capital market reforms.Kho also talks about regional cooperation and integration, which can benefit countries in South Asia including Bangladesh.“Increasing trade activity can facilitate jobs creation, economic activity and economic growth. Investment has to be moved to increase port efficiency, develop roads and transport connectivity, keeping an eye on future.”“We will work on trade facilitation, cross-border energy trade and developing transport connectivity in the next three years.”She said Bangladesh would have to enhance the business climate, improve trade logistics and infrastructure and address skills shortage in order to grow rapidly.She says about two million people enter the country’s job market a year. “It is important that the country invests heavily in secondary education and skills development.”She makes a list of challenges for the country.“Climate change would pose a risk for the country. It will require more resources and capacity to address the climate change risks. The use of land and its planning have become very critical for the country because of a shortage of land, which is needed for industrial development.”“Urban congestion is going to be a challenge for the country, as people seek better opportunities, they will move to urban areas and stretch the capacity of the cities to provide services for them.”She however assured Bangladesh of continued support. “We will be your partner in helping you meet the challenges.”She said Bangladesh would require heavy investment in order to solve some of its major challenges.“The government can work with development partners, civil society organisations and private sector so both public and private resources can be brought together to address the challenges.”Although she does not delve into the debate over the corruption issue of Padma Bridge, she said the bridge project remains one of the key investment projects in the country’s history, because it is supposed to connect the south-western part of the country with the northern part and the capital, and can benefit 20 million people with increased trade and jobs.

Power import starts formally tomorrow

The much-talked about power import from India will get under way on a commercial basis from tomorrow through the addition of 175 megawatt (MW) of electricity to the national grid.“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally inaugurate the electricity import at the power transmission centre in Bheramara. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the programme through video conference,” said Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday.Tawfiq, energy adviser to the premier, was speaking at a press conference at the PID conference room in the capital.The test supply of power began on September 27 when 50 MW of electricity were added to the national grid through a high voltage sub-station at Bheramara in Kushtia, said a senior official of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).Initially 175 MW power will be imported and supplied to the national grid. The transmission will be increased up to 500 MW at the end of November, said Tawfiq.A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries in 2010 on import of a total of 500 MW power from India.Half of this power will be coming from the Indian central government electricity quota and the rest from its open market.The purchase price of 250 MW of power that will come from the Indian government’s quota will be Tk 4 and some paisa per unit, Tawfiq said.For the remaining 250 MW of electricity, which will come from the open market, the purchase price will be around Tk 6 per unit, he added.The total amount of electricity, which is to be imported under a 35-year contract, will improve the country’s power crisis situation, which is now being tackled through costly but short-term rental power plants, said an official of PGCB.Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, who was present at the press conference, said, “We are looking forward to an initiation of regional power trade through grid connectivity.”When newsmen asked whether India stood as an obstacle to Bangladesh’s move for importing electricity from Nepal and Bhutan, Indian Power Secretary PK Sinha said India was very much positive about such moves.“But Bangladesh needs tripartite discussions on implementing such projects,” he added.State Minister for Power and Energy Enamul Haque also spoke at the press conference.

Gang of medicine smugglers busted

A criminal gang, under the guise of garment accessories exporters, smuggled local medicinal drugs abroad for the last four years to produce narcotics.A team of Rapid Action Battalion-1 busted the smugglers’ den at the capital’s Uttara early yesterday and detained 10 people, including seven Chinese.“During primary interrogation, the detainees admitted that they have been smuggling tablets for the last four years in the name of exporting garment accessories such as buttons and zippers,” ATM Habibur Rahman, director of the Rab’s legal and media wing, told newsmen at a press briefing at its Uttara headquarters.The gang was sending 12 cartons of tablets to Hong Kong through Expo Freight Limited, an air freight company. The consignment weighed 300kg.Out of suspicion, the company with permission from Bangladesh Customs checked the cartons and found tablets in those instead of buttons as declared by its sender Mizanur Rahman.When Mizanur was contacted, Chinese national Lieu Xing Hui answered the phone, raising the freight company’s suspicion. The firm then informed the Rab about the matter.The elite force tested the tablets at its laboratory. They contained ephedrine, a chemical similar to methylamphetamine, the main ingredient of Yaba, said Habibur.The Rab-1 team then tracked down the alleged smugglers and raided their den on Road-11 of Sector-3 in Uttara.The detainees are Lieu Xing Hui 46, Rau Rui Aung,46 , Kui Haung Tu, 36, Jang Chau Liang, 40, Lin Lian Fu, 35, Lieu Xi Jin, 27, Yang Hi Cheng, 40, Mushfiqur Rahman Khan Sohel, 35, Raqibul Hassan, 34, and Muniruzzaman, 38.The law enforcers also recovered a huge amount of tablets of different renowned Bangladeshi companies, an apparatus for producing fake medicine, liquor, six foreign passports, Tk 24,40,300 and some US currency notes from their possession.The Chinese nationals have been here on work permits. Two of them are overstaying their visas. They collected the tablets with the help of the three Bangladeshis, two of whom are medical representatives of drug companies.“Though the tablets are prescription drugs, the Bangladeshis bought those from pharmacies in bulk at prices higher than the maximum retail price,” said the Rab official.According the Narcotics Control Act, 1990, ephedrine is a controlled drug and special government permission is required for its export, import and storage.A controlled drug also in other countries, ephedrine is not available for purchase in large quantities. The quality of Bangladeshi medicines is high and can be purchased easily from drug stores, which often sell medicines without prescription, mentioned Habibur.Responding to a query by a reporter, he said till now they have no knowledge of illegal laboratories in the country where ephedrine is separated from tablets to produce meth and yaba.The seized tables, including those in 12 cartons, have an estimated worth of Tk 2.5 crore.The Rab-1 last night handed over the detainees to police and filed a case with Uttara Police Station under the special powers act against them for smuggling of medicinal drugs.

Foreign job seekers’ registration starts in Ctg, Khulna

Online registration for people seeking jobs in foreign countries under government and non-government arrangements began in Khulna and Chittagong divisions Friday.The interested candidates can register their names online from their respective unions, municipalities and city corporations’ ward information service centres and district employment and manpower offices until October 12.Registration in Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions started on September 28 and will continue till October 6.Only 260,490 job seekers have registered their names till Thursday.Besides, the job seekers from Dhaka and Barisal divisions enrolled their names between September 22 and 30.Earlier, over 14 lakh migrant job seekers registered for Malaysian jobs across the country last January and over 40,000 female job seekers registered for Middle-eastern countries and other Asian countries including Singapore, Hong Kong last April.Of the 14 lakh, 20,000 job seekers were selected for Malaysia, of which only 445 workers have migrated till September, according to the statistics of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

8 idols vandalised in Natore

Miscreants vandalised eight newly-made idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in Natore Sadar upazila early Friday.A gang broke into the Sarbojanin puja mandap at Chandrakala village between 2:00am and 4:00am and disfigured the idols including those of Hindu goddesses “Durga” and “Lakshmi”; and gods “Ganesh” and “Kartik”, said Aslam Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station quoting Jagadish Chandra Karmaker, president of the temple committee.The committee members stayed at the temple until 2:00am, reported our correspondent in Natore quoting the police official.Describing the incident police said Narayan Chandra Karmaker, general secretary of the committee, came to the temple around 4:00am and found the deities are damaged badly.Narayan later informed the locals about the incident and also called the law enforcers.Police are trying to arrest the criminals involved in vandalising the statues, the OC said.Earlier on September 29, eight idols of Hindu gods and goddesses were vandalised in Bogra and Munshiganj districts.

Central bank to call the shots

The government yesterday approved the draft of the Grameen Bank Act 2013, giving more clout to the central bank to control the microcredit organisation.Once passed by parliament, the act will replace the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, and allow the government to closely monitor the Grameen Bank officials’ power to sue the borrowers.In a weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the cabinet gave its final approval to the draft act. It will be sent to the law ministry for vetting before it is placed in the House.According to the proposed law, Bangladesh Bank will be able to issue any rules or order if the bank faces any problem in implementing the act, said a senior official of the Banking Division, asking not to be named.
Grameen Bank has to submit returns, statements and reports to the central bank from time to time, and if Bangladesh Bank asks for any other reports, the microlender has to provide it, says the draft law.The Banking Companies Act will not be applicable to Grameen Bank, as the central bank will regulate the microlender under the provisions of the new law.“The law does not say that Grameen Bank has been brought under the central bank’s control,” Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.“The law has given the central bank some specific responsibilities concerning Grameen Bank.”Asked whether the new law gives more power to the central bank to control Grameen Bank, Musharraf said, “The central bank’s power is critically important to ensure discipline in the banking sector. When the central bank is empowered, it is a healthy sign.”Though Finance Minister AMA Muhith publicly said that tax exemption privilege for Grameen Bank would be capped for a certain period, no such provision was included in the draft law.However, the cabinet secretary said the government would decide on the period for which the microlender would enjoy income tax exemption.In the cabinet meeting, the finance ministry proposed retaining the Grameen Bank officials’ power to file cases under the Public Demands Recovery (PDR) Act.But a number of ministers objected to the provision, saying the authority could be used to harass borrowers.The cabinet secretary said Grameen Bank officials would continue to enjoy the power to realise money from borrowers under the PDR act.“But its execution will be monitored so that borrowers are not harassed and the power is not abused.” The government was yet to decide on which agency would monitor it, he said.Suggesting a major change in the existing rules, the draft law says, both the government-appointed directors and the nine elected directors of Grameen Bank will not be able to stay in their posts for more than three years.According to the existing rules, the government-appointed directors remain in their posts as long as the government wants.The proposed law says three government-appointed directors will be able to convene a board meeting if all posts of elected directors are vacant.Following a court order, the government decided to turn into law the GB ordinance, along with more than 500 ordinances promulgated during the military rule between 1982 and 1986.The cabinet secretary said those ordinances were given legality recently through the passage of two laws in parliament.The proposed law also suggests stricter restrictions on the use of Grameen name.If anyone uses the name of Grameen without written consent from Grameen Bank, he or she would face imprisonment up to one year or a fine of Tk 1 lakh or both, said the secretary.According to the proposed law, the government’s share in the Grameen Bank remains the same at 25 percent, while the remaining 75 percent belong to the borrower shareholders of the bank.The draft law suggests increasing the Grameen Bank’s authorised capital to Tk 1,000 crore from Tk 350 crore, and the paid-up capital to Tk 300 crore from Tk 50 crore.