The government has decided to expand coverage and increase benefit amounts under a range of social safety net programmes for the fiscal year 2026–27, following a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Social Safety Programmes.
The 32nd meeting of the committee was held at the Finance Division on Saturday at 2:00pm, with the Honourable Finance Adviser in the chair. The meeting reviewed programmes under the committee’s mandate and fixed both the number of beneficiaries and the allowance rates for 15 major social safety schemes for the next fiscal year (2026-27).
Under the Ministry of Social Welfare, the number of beneficiaries of the Old Age Allowance has been increased by 100,000, taking the total to 6.2 million. Of them, 5.995 million elderly people will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 700, up from Tk 650, while 205,000 beneficiaries aged above 90 years will receive Tk 1,000 per month.
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For widows and women subjected to spousal abuse, also under the Ministry of Social Welfare, a total of 2.9 million beneficiaries have been approved. Among them, 2.875 million will receive Tk 700 per month instead of Tk 650, while 25,000 women aged over 90 years will receive Tk 1,000 per month.
In the disability allowance and education stipend programme, the total number of persons with disabilities has been increased to 3.6 million. Of them, 3,581,900 beneficiaries will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 900, while 18,100 will receive Tk 1,000 per month. In the current fiscal year 2025–26, 3.45 million persons with disabilities are receiving allowances. At the same time, monthly stipends for students with disabilities have been raised by Tk 50 at all levels, setting the rates at Tk 950 for primary, Tk 1,000 for secondary, Tk 1,100 for higher secondary and Tk 1,350 for higher education.
The programme for improving the living standards of backward communities will see its beneficiary base increased by 7,000 to a total of 228,389 people, with the monthly allowance raised from Tk 650 to Tk 700. In addition, the number of backward community students receiving stipends and merit-based scholarships has been increased by 3,198 to 45,338. Monthly stipend rates for these students have been fixed at Tk 700 for primary, Tk 800 for secondary, Tk 1,000 for higher secondary and Tk 1,200 for higher education. The programme will also provide skills development training to 5,490 people from backward communities.
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The number of beneficiaries receiving financial assistance for serious illnesses – including cancer, kidney disease, liver cirrhosis, paralysis caused by stroke, congenital heart disease and thalassaemia – has been increased by 5,000 to 65,000. The amount of one-time medical assistance has been doubled from Tk 50,000 to Tk 100,000.
Under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, the number of beneficiaries of the Mother and Child Assistance Programme has been increased by 124,000 to 1,895,200. Under this programme, a mother receives a monthly allowance of Tk 850.
The Food-Friendly Programme under the Ministry of Food will also be expanded, with the number of beneficiary families increased by 500,000 to 6 million. Each family receives 30 kilograms of rice per month at Tk 15 per kilogram for a total of six months.
The meeting also decided to increase the monthly allowance for titled freedom fighters and families of martyred freedom fighters under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs by Tk 5,000. In addition, the committee recommended bringing the monthly honorarium for families of those martyred and injured in the July mass uprising under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs within the committee’s formal mandate.
The Advisory Council Committee further recommended including the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock within its scope. For the fiscal year 2026–27, it proposed bringing an additional 273,514 fishermen under the programme, raising the total number of beneficiaries to 1.5 million fishermen.