B Mirror Report: Prime Minister Tarek Rahman will inaugurate the Family Card distribution programme on March 10, Minister for Women and Children Affairs and Social Welfare Professor Dr Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain announced on Tuesday afternoon.

The Social Welfare Minister said Family Card holders will receive Tk 2,500 per month. He added that beneficiaries will be selected impartially, without any political consideration. The programme will initially begin as a pilot project in 13 upazilas, and after four months, it will be gradually expanded nationwide to include three categories of extremely poor households.

The government plans to launch the pilot phase by distributing Family Cards to around 10,000 marginalised and low-income families across the country before the upcoming Eid. The estimated cost of implementing the programme during the last four months of the current fiscal year 2025–26 (March–June) is between Tk 8 crore and Tk 10 crore. The initiative aims to bring poor and vulnerable families under the social safety net. A proposal in this regard was presented at the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Family Card distribution held at the Finance Ministry on Sunday.

According to meeting sources, although the pilot programme was initially planned in eight upazilas across eight divisions, a proposal has been made to include two more upazilas. Gabtoli in Bogura and Nawabganj in Dinajpur are among the upazilas under consideration. The programme is expected to cover around 10,000 beneficiary families, with approximately 1,000 families from each upazila. Discussions were also held on providing monthly financial assistance ranging from Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500 per family.

According to preliminary estimates by the Finance Division, providing Tk 2,000 per month would require Tk 8 crore for four months, while providing Tk 2,500 per month would require Tk 10 crore. The meeting instructed officials to finalise a clear proposal, including the number of beneficiaries, selection criteria, and implementation guidelines.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the Ministry of Social Welfare have been asked to submit a report to the committee by next Tuesday.

Once approved by the committee led by the Finance Minister, the proposal will be presented to the Prime Minister, who will make the final decision on the number of beneficiaries and the allowance amount.