THE government’s decision to assess the impact of the Family Card programme on beneficiaries’ living standards is a necessary step to ensure that a major public welfare initiative delivers its intended outcomes. Officials at a review meeting on June 15 said that surveys would be conducted to determine how far the cash transfer scheme has improved the health, education and overall wellbeing of beneficiary households and to identify the reasons behind any shortcomings. The findings are expected to guide corrective measures and strengthen programme implementation. Under the scheme, 4.1 million women beneficiaries are set to receive Tk 2,500 a month each in the 2026–27 financial year, with the government planning to expand coverage significantly over the next four years. The meeting also approved implementation guidelines and reiterated the need to keep beneficiary selection free from political influence. Given that Tk 14,000 crore has been allocated for the programme in the national budget and that beneficiaries will not simultaneously receive support under other social safety net schemes, the planned assessment assumes particular significance. The exercise should provide an evidence-based understanding of whether the programme is improving the lives of its intended recipients and whether public funds are being used effectively.
The effectiveness of the planned assessment, however, will depend on whether it examines not only the outcomes of the programme but also the integrity of its implementation. Bangladesh’s social safety net programmes have long been criticised in studies by the Centre for Policy Dialogue and other research bodies for exclusion errors, political patronage and weak beneficiary verification, resulting in public resources failing to reach many of the people most in need. The family card programme has already faced similar concerns even before its full-scale rollout. Recent findings by the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs have pointed to inaccurate beneficiary data and exclusion of deserving households due to data-related errors. Reports in national media have also highlighted complaints that apparently ineligible households were included in beneficiary lists, raising questions about the robustness of the selection process. These concerns assume greater significance as the government plans to spend thousands of crores of taka annually on the programme. While the government’s pledge to keep the programme free from political influence is reassuring, experience documented in earlier CPD analyses suggests that independent monitoring and rigorous verification mechanisms are equally important. Unless such safeguards are institutionalised, the programme risks reproducing many of the shortcomings that have weakened social protection initiatives in the past.
The assessment should, therefore, lead to concrete reforms in selection, verification and monitoring across the family card, farmers card and other emerging targeted transfer initiatives under the social safety net framework. Without transparent criteria, independent oversight and strict accountability, these programmes risk reproducing long-standing flaws in welfare delivery.
