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Bangladesh Bank's Uddyog scheme draws 18,444 loan applications from eight districts

Young entrepreneurs applied in Manikganj, Feni, Naogaon, Jhenaidah, Bhola, Habiganj, Rangpur and Netrakona between 16 September and 15 October, with the rest of the country invited from 1 November.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 13:50Updated: 18 Oct 2026, 13:50

A Bangladesh Bank branch building in Rajshahi. File photo: Mohammad Raiyan Tamzid / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Mohammad Raiyan Tamzid / Wikimedia Commons

Bangladesh Bank's Uddyog programme has received 18,444 applications from young entrepreneurs in its first eight districts, the central bank said, ahead of a nationwide rollout next month.

Applications were accepted from 16 September to 15 October at upazila-level branches of scheduled banks in Manikganj, Feni, Naogaon, Jhenaidah, Bhola, Habiganj, Rangpur and Netrakona.

Netrakona recorded the most, with 5,351 applications. Rangpur followed with 2,745, Naogaon with 2,456 and Jhenaidah with 2,191. Habiganj received 1,552, Bhola 1,545, Manikganj 1,343 and Feni 1,261.

The remaining 56 districts will accept applications from 1 to 30 November. Forms can be downloaded from Bangladesh Bank's website, its SME portal and the websites of scheduled banks, and submitted at any scheduled bank branch in the applicant's upazila.

The scheme, whose guideline was issued on 16 September under a Bangladesh Bank SME circular, is aimed at entrepreneurs aged up to 28. It offers up to Tk 20 lakh in financing: as much as Tk 10 lakh as a loan and up to Tk 10 lakh as a one-time grant.

The grant comes with a condition. If the loan portion is not repaid, the grant is converted into a loan, so an entrepreneur must clear the loan to keep the grant.

Eligible ventures include agriculture, food processing, handicrafts, fisheries, livestock, tourism, services, solar and other renewable energy, light engineering and technology-based startups, along with other lawful businesses. A lead bank designated for each upazila will screen the applications.

Bangladesh Bank says the programme is meant to find promising young entrepreneurs at the upazila level, widen access to finance and create jobs.

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A file photo used by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha for coverage of the BNP's nomination process for a vacant women's reserved seat in the Jatiya Sangsad. Photo: BSS BSS

The BNP will interview women seeking its nomination for the by-election to a vacant women's reserved seat in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on 19 October, the party said in a press release signed by assistant office secretary Munir Hossain.

The interviews will be held at 7:00pm at the party chairman's political office in Gulshan, and will be attended by women who bought and submitted nomination papers, the release said.

The by-election is for a seat reserved for women that fell vacant after Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti resigned as an MP on 1 October. She had been accused of involvement in an attack, looting and vandalism at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Dhaka's Mirpur, and resigned on the instructions of BNP chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Under the Election Commission schedule announced on 12 October and signed by EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, nomination papers must be submitted to the returning officer at the Nirbachan Bhaban by 26 October. Scrutiny will be held on 27 October, the last date for withdrawal of candidacies is 1 November, and voting will take place on 12 November.

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Coast Guard seizes 8.3m metres of nets in hilsa ban crackdown

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Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel patrol rivers and coastal waters to enforce the 22-day ban on hilsa fishing that runs from 8 to 29 October 2026. Photo: BSS BSS

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The ban began on 8 October and lasts until 29 October. It bars catching, transporting, storing, marketing, buying and selling hilsa anywhere in the country.

Officials said conservation operations have been intensified in 54 upazilas across 16 districts, with stations and outposts under the Coast Guard's four zones running regular patrols. Chandpur, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Munshiganj, Barishal, Patuakhali, Bhola, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Bagerhat, the Chattogram outer anchorage and parts of Lakshmipur are among the areas getting particular attention.

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Patrol vessels are also on alert to keep fishing trawlers from neighbouring countries out of Bangladesh's territorial waters, the force said. Officials said working in remote rivers at night and stopping the use of banned nets remain the biggest challenges, and that patrols, intelligence gathering and coordination with other agencies have been strengthened.

Under a government programme, rice is being given to 646,290 fishing families in 168 upazilas across 38 districts, with each family receiving 25 kilogrammes for the duration of the ban.

Fisherman Burhan Uddin of Char Fasson in Bhola told the state news agency BSS that the restriction would help hilsa breed and grow, and welcomed the food aid for families losing income. Professor Mohammad Mamun Chowdhury, chairman of Dhaka University's fisheries department, called the ban effective but said it should run for a month rather than 22 days, because egg-bearing hilsa are still netted soon after it ends.

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Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said surveillance and drives had been strengthened to ensure safe spawning, and urged the public to report violations on the emergency number 16111.