Tk 1.45 trillion for family card, other social safety programmes

The government is giving significant priority to the social safety net sector in the budget for fiscal year 2026–27. Several new programmes, including the Family Card and Farmer Card schemes, are being introduced. At the same time, both the number of beneficiaries and the amount of allowances are being increased under several existing programmes, including the old-age allowance.

According to sources in the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance, the total allocation for the social safety net sector will be increased to Tk 1.45 trillion (145,000 crore) in the next fiscal year. In the current fiscal year (2025–26), the allocation stood at Tk 1.16 trillion (116,731 crore.) In the preceding fiscal year, the allocation was Tk 1.36 trillion (136,026 crore.)

The Cabinet Committee on Social Safety Net Programmes is chaired by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury. At a meeting held at the Secretariat on 7 May with the minister in chair, the number of beneficiaries and allowance rates for the upcoming budget were finalised.

The finance minister signed the meeting minutes on 20 May. Finance Division sources said that the upcoming budget will focus on increasing both beneficiary coverage and per-capita allocations in order to reduce poverty among poor, marginalised and vulnerable groups, lessen social inequality, and improve living standards.

The meeting also decided that beneficiaries of social safety net programmes must possess a National Identity Card (NID). For individuals under 18 years of age, a birth registration certificate and their guardians’ NIDs will be required.

To ensure that benefits reach the correct recipients, a Dynamic Social Registry (DSR) will be implemented. The DSR is a database through which beneficiary information is stored and analysed online to determine eligibility.

Relevant stakeholders say that major problems in the social safety net sector include inaccurate beneficiary selection, low benefit levels, weak databases and coordination, a shortage of employment-oriented programmes, administrative shortcomings, and irregularities. Properly identifying genuine poor households and ensuring benefits reach them remains one of the sector’s key challenges.

The government has decided to introduce eight new programmes beginning in the next fiscal year. One of the most significant is the Family Card programme.

Under the scheme, 4.1 million beneficiaries will receive Family Cards in the next fiscal year. Each woman-headed household will receive Tk 2,500 per month. The programme will cost Tk 123 billion (12,374 crore) during FY2026–27.

Pilot implementation of the Family Card project began during the current fiscal year. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman launched the initiative for woman-headed households on 10 March. A review meeting chaired by the finance minister at the Secretariat on 27 April was informed that 16.1 million families would receive Family Cards over five years at a total cost of Tk 1.34 trillion.

Among the other new initiatives is a monthly honorarium programme for families of those killed and individuals injured during the July uprising. A total of 16,513 beneficiaries have been identified under four categories. They include 844 martyr families, each receiving Tk 20,000 per month. There are 1,607 Category-A injured persons, each to receive Tk 20,000 per month; 1,614 Category-B injured persons, each to receive Tk 15,000 per month; and 12,448 Category-C injured persons, each to receive Tk 10,000 per month. The annual expenditure for the programme will be Tk 2.37 billion.

Under the Farmer Card programme, 4.25 million beneficiaries have been selected. Each cardholder will receive Tk 2,500 annually, at a total cost of Tk 10.6 billion.

Another new initiative will provide honorariums to personnel serving in mosques and other places of worship. The programme will cover 255,666 beneficiaries. This includes 86,833 imams, priests, and monastery heads, as well as an equal number of muazzins, caretakers, and deputy monastery heads. In addition, there will be 82,000 khadems. Imams, priests, and monastery heads will receive Tk 5,000 per month; muazzins, caretakers, and deputy monastery heads will receive Tk 3,000 per month; and khadems will receive Tk 2,000 per month. Imams, muazzins, and khadems will also receive festival allowances totaling Tk 2,000 annually during the two Eid festivals. Personnel of other faiths will receive Tk 2,000 during Durga Puja, Buddha Purnima, and Christmas.

A Protection Programme for Unemployed Workers is also being introduced. Under the scheme, 15,000 workers will receive Tk 5,000 per month for a maximum of three months. An allocation of Tk 226 million has been earmarked for the programme. The existing “Social Protection Programme for Distressed Workers in Export-Oriented Industries” will be renamed under this initiative.

The Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme will cover 1.5 million beneficiaries. They will receive cash equivalent to the economic value of 110,000 tonnes of rice. The programme will be implemented under an integrated policy framework.

The new proposals also include a canal excavation programme and a tree plantation programme, both to be implemented through development projects. Questions have been raised over whether these qualify as social safety net programmes.

A senior Finance Division official argued that because they provide social protection through employment and income generation for poor populations, they can be considered part of the expanded framework of social protection programmes.

Under the old-age allowance programme, 6.1 million beneficiaries currently receive Tk 650 per month. The allowance is being increased by Tk 50 to Tk 700, while the number of beneficiaries will rise to 6.2 million. Total expenditure will amount to Tk 52.4 billion.

The number of beneficiaries under the widow and abandoned women allowance programme will increase by 100,000 to 3 million. Their monthly allowance will also rise by Tk 50 to Tk 700, bringing total expenditure to Tk 25.3 billion.

The number of beneficiaries receiving disability allowances will increase from 3.45 million to 3.8 million, while the monthly allowance will rise from Tk 900 to Tk 1,000. The number of disabled students receiving merit-based stipends will increase from 81,000 to 100,000. Stipends at primary, secondary, higher secondary, and higher education levels, currently ranging from Tk 900 to Tk 1,300, will be increased to Tk 1,000–Tk 1,400. Additional spending on disability allowances and stipends will total Tk 8.7 billion.

The monthly allowance for improving the living standards of marginalised communities will remain unchanged at Tk 650, although the number of beneficiaries receiving allowances and stipends will increase.

Under the Mother and Child Assistance Programme, the monthly allowance will remain Tk 850, but the number of beneficiaries will increase by 124,000 to 18,95,200.

Financial assistance for patients suffering from cancer, kidney disease, liver cirrhosis, stroke-related paralysis, congenital heart disease, and thalassemia will be doubled from Tk 50,000 to Tk 100,000. The number of beneficiaries will rise from 60,000 to 65,000.

The monthly honorarium for freedom fighters will remain unchanged at Tk 20,000. However, honorariums for recipients of gallantry awards and the families of top award recipients will increase by Tk 5,000. Current honorariums of Tk 20,000, Tk 25,000, Tk 30,000, and Tk 35,000 for Bir Protik, Bir Bikrom, Bir Uttam, and Bir Sreshtho families, respectively, will be raised accordingly.

Selim Raihan, Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), told Prothom Alo, “The social protection sector needs expansion. I welcome the government’s initiative. However, proper utilisation of funds must be ensured.”

He noted that the National Social Security Strategy adopted in 2015 recommended ending political interference in beneficiary selection, eliminating duplication, and ensuring proper use of funds. Implementing those recommendations, he said, would resolve many of the sector’s existing problems.

According to Finance Division sources, the budget for FY2026–27 is being prepared at Tk 9.38 trillion, which is Tk 1.48 trillion higher than the original Tk 7.90 trillion budget for the current fiscal year.