Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday inaugurated the Family Card distribution programme, formally launching the pilot project at the T&T Playground in Banani.
The initiative is designed to support women‑headed households nationwide, marking a significant step toward women’s empowerment and strengthening social safety nets.
The programme is currently being implemented in 15 wards across 13 districts, covering 67,854 women-headed households. Authorities have collected data by visiting each home, verifying family size, education, housing conditions, and living standards.
To ensure transparency and eliminate nepotism, the government has used the Proxy Means Test (PMT) software to automatically determine poverty indices. After verification, 37,567 families have been finally selected for the allowance, excluding those with multiple benefits, government jobs, or pensions.
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The Family Cards will be modern smart cards equipped with contactless chips, QR codes, and NFC technology to ensure security and ease of use.
Generally, one card will be provided per family of five, with proportional increases for larger or joint families. Beneficiaries will receive monthly cash assistance of Tk2,500 in the initial phase, with the government also considering providing food aid of equivalent value in the future.
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The allowance will be transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts or mobile wallets through the G2P (Government to Person) system, eliminating any intermediary interference.
Families with members employed in government or autonomous organisations, MPO-listed teachers, or those possessing savings certificates exceeding Tk5 lakh and luxury assets such as cars or air conditioners will not be eligible.
The pilot project has been allocated Tk38.07 crore until June this year, with 66.06 percent to be distributed as direct cash assistance and the remainder for card production and system development.
The detailed guideline has been uploaded to the Ministry of Social Welfare’s website: www.msw.gov.bd.
