Family Card to launch August 16, 16 million families to benefit in 4 years

The government is set to officially launch the Family Card program on August 16. The government aims to bring 16 million families under the program in phases over the next four years. Social Welfare Minister A Z M Zahid Hossain confirmed the information at a press briefing following a meeting of the Cainet Committee on the Family Card, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, at the Secretariat on Thursday.

He said Prime Minister Tarek Rahman will inaugurate the program in Ward 8 of Latifabad Union in Kishoreganj Sadar Upazila on August 16. As part of the initiative, the program will be expanded to all upazilas and unions across the country by the end of October.

The Social Welfare Minister said the pilot program was conducted in 56 areas and produced encouraging results. The error rate was below 3 percent, and the minor problems identified during the process have already been resolved. From August 16, information will be updated every month using a new questionnaire and a fully online process.

To ensure transparency in the program, a multilayered monitoring system has been put in place from the union level to the national level. At the local level, information will be verified by first class government officials. At the same time, the progress of the entire program will be regularly monitored at the highest level under the leadership of the Prime Minister, A Z M Zahid Hossain said.

Under the program, the list of genuinely poor people will be regularly updated based on changes in their socioeconomic conditions. The minister said there will be no opportunity to receive benefits based on political, religious or social identity.

He also expressed hope that when the assistance reaches the hands of women in families, it will increase spending on productive sectors such as child nutrition, education, healthcare and cottage industries, playing a major role in women’s empowerment and poverty reduction in rural areas.