Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the distribution of Family Cards at the T&T playground in Banani, next to the Karail slum, at 10am today.
Under the pilot programme, a total of 37,567 female-headed families from different parts of the country will receive the cards in the first phase; every cardholder will get Tk 2500 monthly.
Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Dr AZM Zahid Hossain shared this information at a press conference held at the Secretariat on Monday.
Speaking as the chief guest at the event, Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said that, beyond politics and party affiliation, family cards will first be given to 37,567 women who are heads of extremely poor families.
He said the government has planned the "Family Card" project to ensure that the benefits of Bangladesh's economic growth reach every level of society.
According to the finance minister, the main goal of the project is to provide support to the most disadvantaged and extremely poor people. Housewives from poor families will be economically and socially empowered so that their dignity and respect in the family and society are strengthened.
He added that a significant part of the national budget has been allocated for the project and careful planning and preparation have been made to ensure proper use of the funds.
Khashru said that, in the first phase, beneficiaries were identified through a transparent selection process under a pilot programme.
He said there is no opportunity for political influence or party favoritism in the selection process.
Initially, family cards will be distributed among very poor and low-income families. Later, the government plans to gradually provide the cards to all female-headed families across the country. The government considers this initiative a bold and groundbreaking step.
The finance minister also said that the project will benefit families not only financially but also socially. It will improve their daily living standards and create new economic opportunities.
Social Welfare Minister Dr Zahid Hossain said the pilot programme is being implemented in 15 wards of 13 city corporations and unions across 13 districts of the country.
He added that if the selected female head of a family already receives another government allowance or assistance, that particular benefit will be cancelled. However, other members of the family will still be able to receive the allowances they are entitled to.
Regarding the selection process, the minister said committees were formed with representatives from different government departments at ward, union, upazila and district levels. Members of the ward committees visited homes and collected information on the families' socio-economic conditions, number of members, education, housing, household assets and remittance income. The families were then classified using a proxy means test through software.
Initially, information on 67,854 female-headed families was collected. After verification and selection, 37,564 families were finally chosen to receive the allowance.
Under the Family Card programme, each female-headed household will receive a smart card. The card will include a contactless chip, QR code and NFC technology, making it secure and durable.
However, families will not be eligible for the allowance if any member works in government, autonomous or state-owned institutions, receives a pension, owns large businesses or commercial licences, possesses luxury assets such as cars or air conditioners, or holds savings certificates worth five lakh taka.
Although women from such families may still receive a family card, the card will not include any allowance. Instead, it will state that the money allocated for them has been dedicated to poor people in the country.
The Social Welfare minister said that for the pilot stage of the Family Card programme, Tk 38.7 crore has been allocated until June 2026. Of this amount, Tk 25.15 crore (66.06 percent) will be used for direct cash assistance, while Tk 12.92 crore (33.94 percent) will be spent on data collection, developing the online system and preparing the cards.
He also said that Tk 15 billion will be required for the full implementation of the project.
Zahid Hossain added that the Family Card Piloting Implementation Guidelines 2026 have already been prepared and uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Social Welfare.
