PM Tarique Rahman to launch Family Card programme today

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the Family Card programme today (10 March) at the T&T playground in Banani, adjacent to the Korail slum, aiming to deliver economic benefits directly to citizens' doorsteps.

At a press conference on the launching programme at the Secretariat yesterday (9 March), Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury described the initiative as non-political, non-partisan, and fully transparent, noting that it is designed to ensure the benefits of the nation's economy reach every citizen.

Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain detailed the programme, explaining that under the pilot phase, 37,567 female-headed households have been selected to receive allowances ahead of Eid in March. 

Each eligible family will receive one Family Card covering up to five members, with additional cards issued proportionally for larger households, he added. "If a woman head of household already receives other government allowances, those will be cancelled, while benefits to other family members will continue," the minister explained.

Under the pilot, each household will receive a monthly allowance of Tk2,500, with plans to expand to include food assistance in the future. 

A total of Tk38.07 crore has been allocated for the pilot, with Tk25.15 crore (66%) earmarked for direct cash transfers and Tk12.92 crore (34%) for data collection, system development, card preparation, and programme management.

The pilot covers 13 city corporations and 15 wards across 13 districts, supported by committees at ward, union, upazila, and district levels. 

Ward committees collected detailed household information—including socio-economic status, family size, education, housing, assets (TV, fridge, computer, mobile), and remittance flows—which was then verified at union and upazila levels.

During the pilot, data from 67,854 female-headed households were analysed using a Proxy Means Test (PMT) or poverty index, classifying families into five categories: ultra-poor, poor, lower-middle-class, middle-class, and upper-class.

After verification, 47,777 households in the ultra-poor, poor, and lower-middle-class categories were confirmed, and the final 37,567 households were selected based on factors such as existing government allowances, employment, or pension status.

"The entire selection process is software-driven through the PMT, leaving no room for corruption, favouritism, or manual interference," the Social Welfare Minister stressed.

Each selected household will receive a modern smart Family Card equipped with a chip, QR code, and Near-field communication (NFC) technology to ensure safety and durability.

Minister Zahid Hossain said that households were deemed ineligible if any member received a salary, allowance, grant, or pension from government, autonomous, or state-owned institutions, if the female head worked as a teacher or staff member in an MPO-listed institution, or if the household owned commercial licenses, large businesses, luxury assets (cars, air conditioners), or savings certificates worth Tk500,000 or more.

The Family Card allowance will be disbursed directly from the Social Welfare Ministry's social security budget to beneficiaries' mobile wallets or bank accounts via the G2P (Government-to-Person) system, he added. 

During data collection, beneficiaries' account information was gathered to ensure timely, accurate, and interference-free delivery of funds directly to recipients