The government is preparing to expand its main social support system, with the administration calling for a realistic, step-by-step plan to roll out the ‘Family Card’ programme across the entire country. The goal is to use modern technology and better teamwork among ministries to improve the distribution of public aid.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman led a major planning meeting at the Cabinet Division inside the Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday. According to Deputy Press Secretary Jahidul Islam Rony, the meeting focused on checking the current progress of the card system and drawing up a clear roadmap for its gradual expansion. This program is a major promise made in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) election manifesto.
A big focus of the meeting was making sure the programme uses a highly accurate and trustworthy database. The prime minister stressed that to make the system fair, the government needs a clean list of names. This will ensure that cheap food and daily essentials go directly to the families who actually need them, without any corruption or waste.
To make these changes happen, the prime minister ordered officials to be completely transparent and honest when collecting data, checking information, and choosing who gets a card.
The meeting brought together top government leaders and advisers, including Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain, State Minister Farzana Sharmin, and Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin. Other top officials present were Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, the Prime Minister’s Office Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs, Professor Dr S M Abdul-Awal, and BNP National Executive Committee Special Secretary Belayet Hossain Mridha.
This new plan is expected to change how the country handles public aid and food support, moving toward a modern, computerised system as the programme expands from cities out into rural villages.
