The Prime Minister transferred direct cash assistance to cardholders' wallets through the G2P (Government-to-Person) system and symbolically handed over Family Cards to 10 women. Each selected family will receive monthly cash assistance of Tk 2,500, and the cards have been issued in the name of the mother or the eldest female member of the family.
Special guests present at the event included the Honourable Deputy Minister for Social Welfare Ms. Farzana Sharmin MP, the Honourable Deputy Minister for Textiles and Jute Mr. Md. Shariful Alam, and local Members of Parliament. The event was chaired by the Honourable Minister for Social Welfare Professor Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain MP.
Beneficiary Selection through Scientific Method
The 'Family Card' is a priority programme announced in the current government's election manifesto, whose core philosophy is that the family—not the individual—is the primary unit of development. Beneficiary selection does not rely on recommendations or party considerations; rather, the scientific Proxy Means Test (PMT) scoring method has been employed.
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The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has updated the PMT scoring method and data collection forms based on the 2022 Population and Housing Census. Under this method, families are divided into five quintiles based on their economic status, and families up to the 3rd quintile—i.e., those with a PMT score of up to 860—will be selected for the Family Card.
In the first practical application of the updated PMT method in Ward No. 08 of Latibabad Union, data from all 1,107 households were collected and entered. A total of 462 families were deemed eligible. To ensure transparency, verification was conducted against the Finance Division's iBAS++ system, which led to the exclusion of 2 families due to their ownership of savings certificates worth Tk 5 lakh or more, bringing the final number of beneficiaries to 460.
Piloting Successful, National-Level Preparation Finalized
The pilot phase of the programme began on March 10, 2026, and was successfully completed across 55 units in 42 districts across 8 divisions of the country. In the pilot areas, data from 109,679 households were included in the digital database; after vetting, 76,915 families were deemed eligible, and in June last year, funds were directly transferred to the bank or mobile accounts of 70,861 families through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)—which constitutes 92.13 percent of the eligible list.
Preparation for nationwide implementation of the programme is in its final stages. The 'Family Card Implementation Policy 2026' and the 'Family Card Household Database Data Collection Guidelines, 2026,' comprising 14 forms and 5 SOPs, have been formulated. The initiative is being implemented through the jointly funded World Bank and Government of Bangladesh SSPIRIT project.
Nationwide Data Collection to Begin in September
A target has been set to commence simultaneous integrated digital data collection activities across the country by September 2026. This time, it will not be a sample survey—data will be collected from every family in the country, i.e., an estimated 4.45 crore households, and based on the collected data, PMT scores will be determined to select beneficiaries in phases.
For nationwide data collection, 66,815 data collectors and 6,681 supervisors will be deployed. Already, 100% deployment has been completed in 20 districts, including Kishoreganj.
The target for the first year, i.e., fiscal year 2026-27, is 41 lakh families, whose inclusion will begin from October 2026. Through phased expansion, the government aims to bring 1 crore 61 lakh families under this social safety net by 2030, building a poverty-free, equitable Bangladesh.
Other Assistance Provided
At today's event, in addition to the Family Cards, financial and rehabilitation assistance totaling Tk 28,00,000 was provided to a total of 535 beneficiaries under various programmes of departments and agencies under the Ministry of Social Welfare. This includes Tk 1,00,000 each to 10 individuals suffering from complex diseases, Tk 10,000 each to 50 meritorious students, Tk 10,000 each to 5 destitute and helpless individuals, and Tk 10,000 each to 10 persons with disabilities. Additionally, an appointment letter for a job was handed over to a person with a disability.