The apparatus the state runs on
The Machinery of Government
A government is not one body but hundreds. This is the register the twin governs through: the ministries and divisions that hold executive power, the constitutional and regulatory organs meant to check it, the permanent bureaucracy of departments and autonomous bodies, and the parliamentary committees that scrutinise them. Each entry carries its mandate, legal basis, current head, and source list.
The shape of the state
The independent organs
Constitutional bodies stand outside the executive's line of command. Their leadership and independence are the clearest test of whether the checks on power are functioning.
Independent statutory body mandated to prevent and detect corruption in public and private sectors; investigate corruption offences; file and prosecute corruption cases;...
Recruit persons for services and posts in the Republic
Superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections to Parliament, the Presidency, and local government bodies
Enforce citizens' right to access information held by public authorities under the Right to Information Act 2009
Unicameral national legislature of Bangladesh
Promote and protect human rights in Bangladesh
Chief legal adviser to the Government of Bangladesh
Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Bangladesh: audit all receipts and expenditures of the Government of Bangladesh and all authorities substantially financed by the...
Seat of the Head of State
Highest court of the republic
The regulators
Statutory authorities that license, supervise, and discipline whole sectors of the economy.
Regulate the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Bangladesh
Central bank and apex regulatory authority for Bangladesh's monetary and financial system
Prevent, control, and eradicate collusion, monopoly and oligopoly, combination, or abuse of dominant position or activities adverse to competition
Regulate the energy sector (electricity, natural gas, petroleum products, and LPG) in Bangladesh
Autonomous statutory regulatory agency responsible for ensuring consumer access to safe food across Bangladesh's entire food supply chain
Regulate and develop the Bangladesh capital market
Independent regulation of telecommunications in Bangladesh: licensing of operators and service providers, spectrum management and assignment, type approval of telecom...
DG: Mohammad Alim Akhtar Khan (as of late 2024)
Regulate and develop the insurance sector of Bangladesh
License, monitor, and supervise the microcredit operations of all NGO-based microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bangladesh
Head: Chief Inspector of Boilers
The cabinet ministries (40)
How the state was built up
Bodies by the era they were established, from the colonial inheritance to the institutions of the 2024 transition.
| Pre-1972 (colonial and Pakistan period) | 53 |
| 1972 to 2008 | 201 |
| 2009 to 2024 | 52 |
| Since the 2024 transition | 12 |
| Year not recorded | 3 |
Most active this quarter
Bodies with the most recorded events in the last 90 days, a rough read on where the state is moving.
| Ministry of Land Ministries | 14 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministries | 12 |
| Ministry of Shipping Ministries | 12 |
| Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministries | 11 |
| Office of the Attorney General Constitutional bodies | 11 |
| Standing Committee on Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Parliamentary committees | 11 |
| Cabinet Division Divisions | 10 |
| Ministry of Food Ministries | 10 |
| Ministry of Home Affairs Ministries | 10 |
| Ministry of Housing and Public Works Ministries | 10 |
Method and sources
Source: the BDPolicyLab Gov Bodies Watch tracker, 321 bodies compiled from the Rules of Business and allocation gazettes, each body's enabling act or constitutional article, official websites, and cabinet and appointment notifications, each record carrying its own source list (5122 sources, 1498 recorded events in total). A current head is recorded for 226 of the 321 bodies; where a post is shown as not recorded it was either vacant or not retrievable from an accessible source at verification, not assumed filled. Of the full set, 216 records are fully verified and 50 are partial; a further 55 are single-pass AI-researched candidates marked unverified, added to widen coverage and awaiting a primary-source check. Budget and staffing are held at the record level only where an official figure exists and are not aggregated here. For every body, see Gov Bodies Watch.