Prime Minister Tariq Rahman will tomorrow inaugurate the government’s landmark “Family Card” programme, which aims to strengthen women empowerment, ensuring their rights, dignity and economic independence.
The inauguration ceremony will be held tomorrow, Tuesday at 10:00 am at T&T playground in Banani (adjacent to Karail slum).
This initiative is part of the government’s commitment to achieve national development and social justice by empowering women and recognizing them as heads of households in social security programmes.
Under the pilot phase, the program is being implemented in 15 wards of 13 municipal corporations/unions in 13 districts of the country, Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Mohammad Zahid Hussain, MP, said in a press conference held at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Finance Ministry today on the eve of the launch of this groundbreaking programme.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmood Chaudhry, Advisor to the Prime Minister Rashed Al Mahmood Titumir, Minister of State for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin, Minister of State for LGRD Mir Shahe Alam and concerned secretaries were present.
Ward committees conducted door-to-door surveys, collecting data on households’ socio-economic conditions, including family size, education, housing conditions, household assets (such as television, refrigerators, computers and mobile phones) and remittance flows.
The collected data was verified by the union and upazila committees before finalizing the beneficiary list.
He said that during the pilot phase, information from 67,854 female-headed households across the country was collected.
Zahid said that using the software-based Proxy Means Test (PMT), households were classified into categories such as extremely poor, poor, lower-middle-income, middle-income and affluent groups.
Of the 51,805 households initially identified as extreme poor, poor and lower-middle income, verification found valid data for 47,777 households. After removing cases involving multiple benefits, government employment or pension rights, 37,567 female-headed households were ultimately selected for assistance.
Officials said the automated PMT-based system reduces the chances of corruption, nepotism or manual interference in the selection of beneficiaries.
Under the programme, each eligible family will receive a modern “Family Card” equipped with a contactless chip, QR code and NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which will ensure security, durability and ease of use.
Each card will cover a maximum of five members of a family, while larger joint families can receive proportionately more cards.
During the pilot phase, selected beneficiaries will receive a monthly allowance of Taka 2,500, and the government may consider providing equivalent food assistance later.
However, families will not be eligible if a member receives salary, allowances or pension from government, autonomous or state-owned institutions. Households with commercial licenses, large businesses, luxury assets such as cars or air conditioners, or savings certificates worth Rs 500,000 or more will also be excluded.
The allowance will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries through a government-to-person (G2P) digital payment system, which will be credited to the women’s mobile wallets or bank accounts, helping them access support without any delays or intermediaries.
For pilot implementation till June 2026, the government has allocated Tk 38.07 crore, out of which Tk 25.15 crore (66.06%) will be distributed as direct cash assistance and Tk 12.92 crore (33.94%) will be used for program implementation, including data collection, development of online system and card production.
Family Card Pilot Implementation Guidelines-2026 have already been prepared and uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Social Welfare.
The Social Welfare Minister said the government’s new “Family Card” program will be provided completely free of cost and will not involve any financial transactions.
Zahid Hussain said that the family card program would initially be launched on a pilot basis. The government will review the program every month, with the Finance Ministry and the Social Welfare Ministry jointly conducting the evaluation process.
He said the government has set a three-month period to “learn the lessons”, which will continue till June 30. During this period, officials will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the program and take corrective measures where necessary before taking it forward.
He also clarified that the beneficiaries will not have to obtain the card from any office. Instead, government officials will deliver the cards directly to beneficiaries at their homes.
He said the data collection process started on February 23 and officials from the concerned departments are working tirelessly to ensure successful implementation of the programme. This initiative has been given priority by the government so that the pilot launch can be conducted smoothly.
Zahid Hussain also thanked members of the media for raising public awareness about the program and urged them to continue their support.
He requested journalists to bring to light any irregularities or discrepancies so that the authorities can immediately address them and stop the abuses.
He said that if beneficiaries face any problems, such as delay in receiving funds or other service-related issues, they will be able to lodge complaints both online and offline, as the software system of the program includes a complaint management facility.
He said the data has been carefully analyzed to avoid duplication and prevent any misuse, manipulation or irregularities in the programme.
Zahid Hussain expressed hope that with the continued support of the media and other stakeholders, the program will be implemented in a transparent manner to successfully reach out to marginalized families across the country.