PM to inaugurate family cards distribution

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is set to inaugurate the much-anticipated family cards distribution programme on 10 March in Bogura Sadar upazila, marking the launch of a key electoral pledge of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) aimed at empowering women and supporting low-income families.
State Minister for Local Government and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam disclosed the information on Friday while speaking to journalists after offering prayers at the shrine of Shah Sultan Balkhi in Mahasthangarh, Shibganj upazila.
He said the programme would begin in Bogura under the government’s social safety net initiatives and noted that this would be the prime minister’s first official visit to Bogura since assuming office.
Ward-3 of Shakharia union in Bogura Sadar upazila has been selected for the pilot phase, with field-level data collection already underway to identify beneficiaries. The pilot will run for four months on a trial basis before gradual expansion across the country. 
Under the initiative, each cardholding family will receive Tk2,500 per month in financial assistance. One woman from each eligible family will be registered as the designated cardholder, prioritising women from extremely poor, poor and lower-income households.
Separate district and upazila-level implementation committees have been formed, headed respectively by deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers. Additional committees have also been constituted at union and ward levels to oversee distribution.
The government will initially distribute family cards on a pilot basis in 14 upazilas starting 10 March. The decision was finalised at a meeting of the implementation committee held at the Cabinet Division in the Secretariat on 24 February, chaired by the prime minister.
Social Welfare Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said the programme would initially cover one ward of one union in each selected upazila with priority given to women from economically vulnerable families.
Sources at the ministry said 14 upazilas in Bogura and Dinajpur districts have been selected for the first phase, including Gabtoli in Bogura and Nawabganj in Dinajpur. Beneficiaries were identified using data from the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, although the exact number of recipients in the pilot phase has yet to be finalised.
Once fully implemented, the Universal Family Card programme is expected to cover around five crore families nationwide. At Tk2,500 per family per month, the scheme would require approximately Tk12,500 crore monthly.
Zahid said funds for the pilot phase had been allocated from the finance ministry’s block allocation for the current fiscal year while future expenditures would be incorporated into the national budget from the next fiscal year.