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.