Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the pre-piloting phase of the government's "Farmers' Card" programme in Tangail, pressing a digital button that transferred BDT 2,500 instantly to beneficiaries' accounts. Following the digital activation, the prime minister distributed cards and saplings to 15 farmers present at the event. Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid had detailed the scheme at a press conference on April 12. The pre-piloting phase will reach 22,065 farmers, fishermen, livestock rearers and salt cultivators across 10 districts. Each cardholder will receive an annual incentive of BDT 2,500.

The card unlocks 10 distinct benefits including subsidised agricultural inputs, irrigation facilities, concessional credit, machinery at reduced cost, government incentives, weather information, training, pest control advice, insurance coverage and fair prices for produce. The government has set a target to distribute these cards to 16.5 million farmers over the next four years. The estimated cost of the programme is Tk 6.81 billion.

The government has decided to seek $3 billion in loans to offset the sudden impacts of the War in West Asia, that has pushed up energy and fertiliser prices on the global market. Since Bangladesh depends on significant imports of both to meet its domestic demand, it will require an additional $3 billion over the four-month period from March to June. to secure this loan as budget support for the

A position paper prepared by the Finance Division outlines three roles for the loan: first, to help maintain foreign currency reserves and ensure imports of fuel, fertiliser, and food; second, to aid specific groups for a certain period; and third, to be used to curb the abnormal spike in fuel oil, gas, and fertiliser prices in the country. Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, attending the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington this week, is expected to broach this in his meeting with officials from those two organisations.

After the World Bank and Asian Development Bank lowered Bangladesh's GDP growth forecast due to the Persian Gulf crisis and domestic vulnerabilities, the International Monetary Fund kept its earlier projection unchanged. The IMF's World Economic Outlook projects Bangladesh's GDP growth at 4.7 percent for FY2025-26, which was the same as its earlier projection from January. However, the IMF lowered its growth projection for the country for the following fiscal, 2026-27, to 4.3 percent.

The World Bank had revised its projection down to 3.9 percent growth from 4.6, while the ADB revised its forecast down to 4 percent from its previous projection of 4.7 percent. Economists expressed surprise at the IMF not going the same way, interpreting it to means the IMF believes Bangladesh to be largely insulated from the impacts of the war in West Asia during the current fiscal. The government, however, remains confident, insisting that GDP growth will reach 5 percent in 2026.

Production at Eastern Refinery Limited, the country's only refinery, has been halted due to a shortage of crude oil, officials said. Production at the two major units of the refinery was suspended on Tuesday (Apr. 14). A third unit is running partially, producing a small amount of petrol and octane. Spokesperson for the Energy and Mineral Resources Division Monir Hossain Chowdhury confirmed the matter to our sister newsagency UNB.

Sources said the crisis stems from a lack of crude oil supply, which has been disrupted due to the state of war in West Asia. A crude oil shipment meant for Bangladesh remains stuck in Saudi Arabia, leading to a depletion of existing stock since the beginning of the current month. Eastern Refinery usually processes around 4,500 tonnes of crude oil daily, producing about 13 types of fuel, including octane, petrol, diesel and furnace oil. However, output had already been reduced to around 3,500 tonnes per day over the past month due to the crude oil shortage.