Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Monday said the government’s ‘Family Card’ programme will be implemented in a transparent and non-partisan manner so that eligible citizens across the country can receive its benefits.
“This is a major programme. In Bangladesh’s history, such a large step for poverty alleviation has not been taken before,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference at the Multipurpose Hall of the Finance Ministry on the eve of the programme’s launch, Khosru said the programme is designed to provide economic support to families through female household heads as part of the government’s broader commitment to women’s empowerment and social welfare.
He said the initiative aims to strengthen the country’s social protection system and ensure that financial assistance reaches people at the grassroots level.
“We want to build a welfare-oriented state where economic benefits reach every citizen,” he said.
Responding to a question on whether residents of constituencies represented by opposition parties would receive the card, the minister rejected the possibility of political discrimination.
“This programme is completely non-partisan. It has been designed neutrally and will be implemented with full transparency,” he said.
He urged journalists and citizens to report any irregularities, assuring that the project would be implemented with honesty and accountability.
Khosru also said the government would review how to support extremely poor households without female members after completion of the pilot phase.
The finance minister said the programme reflects Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s vision to expand social protection and empower the country’s poorest households, particularly women who manage families despite limited resources.
He said the first phase will prioritise extremely poor families, followed by low-income households, with coverage gradually expanding to include all eligible women-headed families across the country.
The programme will initially be implemented as a pilot project, through which the government has developed a transparent beneficiary selection process, he said.
“The lists of beneficiaries have been prepared through an independent and transparent process. There has been no politicisation in selecting the recipients,” he added.
Khosru also said strict safeguards have been built into the system to prevent misuse and corruption in the delivery of benefits.
He expressed hope that the programme would help improve the living standards of low-income households and provide greater financial stability to disadvantaged families.
Further details on the structure and implementation of the project will be shared by the Social Welfare Minister, he added.