Some 37,567 women-headed households in 14 areas, including two in the capital, are going to get Tk 2,500 each against the family cards through their bank accounts or mobile wallets before Eid.
Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafor Md Zahid Hossain yesterday announced the decision at a press conference in the finance ministry.
He added that during the pilot phase, the beneficiaries were selected after data from 51,805 households of the extremely poor, poor, and lower-middle-class were verified. “Those who have been selected will get their money through their bank accounts or mobile wallets before Eid.”
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to inaugurate the pilot phase of the Family Card programme at the Korail slum today.
At the briefing, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the pilot programme would continue until June. The full programme would start from the next fiscal year. Gradually, it would be expanded from lower-income groups to upward and eventually implemented nationwide.
The minister also said the programme would be carried out transparently. Everyone would get its benefit, regardless of which political party they support.
In response to a question from journalists, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, PM’s adviser on finance and planning, said the government would not face any problem in funding the programmes.
The current social safety net programmes have many errors and flaws. By correcting these, waste will be reduced, and the tax-to-GDP ratio will increase. As a result, financing will not be an issue, he added.
Social Welfare Minister Zahid added that women-headed families receiving the Family Card will not be eligible for any other government benefits or allowances, and any existing benefits will be cancelled.
However, the benefits of the other members of those families will remain unaffected.
Responding to a question about any poor families who are not headed by women, he said they would consider this in the next fiscal year when this programme will be implemented in full swing.
Around Tk 38 crore has been allocated to implement the pilot programme of the Family Card scheme up to June. Of the amount, Tk 25.15 crore will be required for the allowance, while the remaining fund will be used for the beneficiary selection process, he added.
The14 selected areas for the pilot phase are Banani (Korail, Sattala, and Bhashantek slums) and Mirpur/Shah Ali (Oli Miar Tek and Baganbari slums) in Dhaka; Pangsha in Rajbari; Patenga in Chattogram; Bancharampur in Brahmanbaria; Lama in Bandarban; Khalishpur in Khulna; Charfesson in Bhola; Derai in Sunamganj; Bhairab in Kishoreganj; Bogura Sadar upazila; Lalpur in Natore; Thakurgaon Sadar upazila; and Nawabganj in Dinajpur.
The government’s ultimate objective is to gradually bring two crore families under monthly cash support under the Family Card programme.
The Family Card Piloting Implementation Guideline, 2026, prepared by the social welfare ministry, envisions transforming the Family Card into a “Universal Social ID Card” for every citizen by 2030 and increasing the social security budget to 3 percent of GDP by 2028.
At present, 95 social safety net programmes are run by 23 ministries. The allocation for the programmes is Tk 1.26 lakh crore this fiscal year, which is 1.87 percent of GDP.
Under the new scheme, cards will be issued in the name of the female head of household. Beneficiaries will be selected using Proxy Means Test (PMT) scoring, a scientific poverty assessment method.
