PM Tarique Rahman to launch Family Card distribution on March 10

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the Family Card distribution programme on March 10, Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Minister Professor Dr Abu Jafar Md Zahid Hossain announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Family card holders will receive Tk 2,500 per month, the Social Welfare Minister said.

He stated that beneficiaries will be selected completely impartially, without any political considerations. The programme will begin as a pilot project in 13 upazilas. After four months, three categories of ultra-poor individuals across the country will receive Family Cards in phases.

"On March 10, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the piloting of the Family Card distribution project. We have currently designated 14 upazilas across various divisions of Bangladesh for this programme. Family Cards will be distributed universally in one ward of one union from each of these 14 upazilas. Inshallah, the programme will begin simultaneously in these 14 upazilas on March 10. This is an ongoing process and will be expanded across Bangladesh in phases," the minister said.

Through the Family Card, beneficiaries from three categories—ultra-poor, poor and lower-income group—particularly mothers, will receive this benefit, he added.

"Our goal is women's empowerment and making them economically self-reliant. We believe that when a woman becomes self-reliant, a family becomes self-reliant, and through this, the next generation will also become self-reliant," the minister said.

He further informed that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been working on this project for a long time. The project was approved today at a meeting chaired by him, attended by relevant ministers, advisers and senior officials. Beneficiaries will receive Tk 2,500 per month through this Family Card.