Play store
The government will officially launch its Family Card Programme on August 16 following the completion of a pilot phase, with plans to gradually bring 16 million families under the social protection initiative over the next four years.
The announcement came on Thursday after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on the Family Card Programme, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury at the Secretariat.
Social Welfare Adviser AZM Zahid Hossain briefed reporters after the meeting.
He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will formally inaugurate the programme on August 16 at Ward No. 8 of Latifabad Union in Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila.
The programme will then be expanded in phases to all upazilas and unions across the country by the end of October.
The adviser said the pilot project, conducted in 56 locations, produced encouraging results. Minor problems in data collection were identified in two areas of Jessore and Netrokona but were later corrected.
No significant issues were found in the remaining 54 areas, where the error rate remained below 3 percent.
From August 16, beneficiary information will be collected entirely online using a new questionnaire and updated methodology.
The database will be updated every month to ensure that changes such as deaths, shifts in socio-economic status or other relevant information are promptly reflected, allowing benefits to reach eligible families.
To ensure transparency, the government has introduced a three-tier monitoring mechanism. At the union level, first-class government officials will supervise data collection.
Separate committees led by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Divisional Commissioner will oversee implementation at the upazila, district and divisional levels, respectively. A national-level committee headed by the finance minister will also monitor the programme.
The prime minister will personally oversee the programme’s progress on a regular basis, the adviser added.
