41 lakh families to receive family cards within a year: PM
The prime minister said the government plans to gradually provide family cards to women heads of households across the country, in line with its election pledge.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (13 July) announced that 41 lakh families across Bangladesh will be brought under the family card programme within the next year.
Speaking at an exchange meeting with family card holders at Batazore Ashwini Kumar Institution grounds in Barishal's Gournadi upazila at 10:30am, the prime minister said the government plans to gradually provide family cards to women heads of households across the country, in line with its election pledge.
Noting that Bangladesh has around 4 crore families, Tarique said 600 families in Gournadi received family cards today, while the remaining eligible families would be brought under the programme in phases.
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"The budget that we inherited after forming the government was the budget prepared by the previous government. In that budget, they did not leave any allocation for the family card," he said, adding that the recently presented national budget includes sufficient funding for the initiative.
Based on the allocation for the next year, the government will distribute family cards to 41 lakh families nationwide, he said.
On average, each upazila will receive around 7,000 family cards over the next year, while the government plans to bring all families under the programme within five years.
The prime minister also said Bangladesh's progress depends on women becoming educated and economically self-reliant alongside men.
To support that goal, he said, the government plans to introduce free education for women up to the undergraduate level and provide scholarships to female students who achieve good academic results.
