Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said there will be no inflation from the government’s new cash assistance programmes as the funds are not being created through the printing of money but instead will be circulated from within the local economy.
“We are not printing money. Since we are not printing money, there will be no inflation,” the prime minister said during the question-answer session in parliament on Wednesday.
He was responding to queries regarding the budget allocations for the upcoming Farmer Cards and Family Cards programmes.
The prime minister announced that the Farmer Card will be launched on Pohela Baishakh (Bengali New Year) under a pilot programme covering approximately 22,000 farmers across 10 districts.
According to government records, there are around 2.75 crore farmers in Bangladesh, and the government has a plan to gradually reach all of them over the next few years, he said.
Under the programme, farmers receiving the Farmer Card will get Tk2,500 annually, while women receiving the Family Card will get Tk2,500 per month.
“We are not giving it to everyone at once. No country in the world can do that all at once. That’s why we will increase the budget allocation every year,” the prime minister said.
Responding to concerns about potential inflation, Tarique Rahman explained that the money would not leave the country but would strengthen the local economy.
“The money going from the government to them is strengthening the local economy. It is rotating within the local economy,” he said, adding that recipients would spend the funds on children’s education, better food, or small local businesses rather than laundering it abroad.
