To address the gas crisis in factories, the government has decided to supply an additional 250 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to industries. Four additional LNG cargoes will be imported between May and August at an estimated cost of Tk2,800 crore, according to Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. He disclosed this information to reporters following a meeting with industrialists at the Secretariat regarding the ongoing gas crisis in the industrial sector.

Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan said that 150 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas, which was previously allocated for electricity generation during Ramadan, will now be redirected to the industrial sector. After that, the second step would be to import four additional LNG cargoes between May and August, which will add another 100 mmcfd of gas. Altogether, this will increase the gas supply to industries by 250 mmcfd," Khan added.

Disregarding due process, India attempted to 'push in' some of the allegedly illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who were arrested in the Indian state of Gujarat recently, during raids following the terrorist attack in Kashmir. According to BGB sources in Khagrachari, India's Border Security Force pushed 27 people into Bangladesh through the Shantipur border, 23 through Achalong Para of Taindong Union, and another 30 were pushed in through the Ruposhi Para border of Panchhari Upazila.

Additionally, BGB arrested 44 people from different bordering areas in Roumari and Bhurangamari upazilas of Kurigram district. Local authorities were able to verify eight of them as Bangladeshi citizens. But due to the unilateral nature of the process, most of the 'push-ins' are being described as Indians and even Rohingyas. National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman said any push-ins should be done through formal channels and Bangladesh's position is to welcome its citizens with verification. He said that they are already trying to contact the Indian government in this regard.

The government is repealing nine controversial sections of the Cyber Security Act, that was previously more notorious as the Digital Security Act, one of the signature black laws of the deposed Awami League regime. As a result of the change, around 95% of fabricated political cases filed by the previous government will be withdrawn, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said. The decision to repeal these controversial sections of the Cyber Security Ordinance was taken during a meeting of the Advisory Council chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

Dr Nazrul added: "The law has undergone 25 rounds of amendments during the drafting phase. Following extensive discussions, the final draft was presented at the Advisory Council meeting." He said that the new Cyber Security Act will come into effect within a week. He further announced that once the ordinance is published in the official gazette, all cases filed under the repealed sections of the Cyber Security Act will be automatically withdrawn.

The national child poverty rate is 16.5 percent with a significantly higher rate in the rural areas, according to a General Economics Division study. Compared with the child poverty rate at 8.2 percent in the urban areas, it is 20.15 percent in rural Bangladesh, the division said in the study released this week. Rangpur division has the highest child poverty rate at 30 percent, followed by Mymensingh at 24.3 percent. Dhaka has the lowest child poverty rate at 9.5 percent, while Chattogram has a rate of 11.9 percent.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the headcount poverty rate, based on the cost of basic needs method, was 18.7 per cent in 2022. In a briefing at the Planning Commission, GED member Monzur Hossain said that child poverty persists mainly in poor households, adding that the study highlighted the significant impact of various socio-demographic factors on child poverty rates, underscoring the need for targeted policies and interventions to address these disparities.