Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today inaugurated the government’s landmark “Family Card” programme to ensure women empowerment in the country as he distributed cards among them at a function here.
The premier handed over the family cards to 17 women at the inauguration ceremony at T&T playground in Banani, adjacent to Korail slum, in the city this morning.
Later, Tarique Rahman reached out the money of family cards to accounts of 37,567 women in 14 places of different districts by pressing button on laptop.
Dr Zubaida Rahman, spouse of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman; Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain, State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin, Social Welfare Secretary Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf and Dhaka North City Corporation administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan were present, among others, on the occasion.
The Family Card Programme is part of the government’s commitment to achieving national development and social justice by empowering women and recognising them as the heads of families in social protection programmes.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman launched the Family Card programme just 21 days after the formation of his government.
At the ceremony, Rina Begum, a beneficiary of the programme who lived in the city’s Sattala slum, was overwhelmed with joy and said, "Thank you the Prime Minister. I never dreamed that I would get this card. This money will help my family a lot."
This pilot programme was launched today in 14 places in different districts of the country, including Dhaka.
In the first phase, 37,567 women received family cards. Every beneficiary is getting Taka 2,500 per month.
Under the pilot programme, beneficiaries of the city’s Karail slum, Sattala slum, Bhasantek slum, Mirpur Circle or Shah Ali's Ward-8, Alimia's Tech slum (Ward-14) and Baganbari slum received family cards today.
In addition, this programme was launched in Pangsha of Rajbari, Patiya of Chattogram, Bancharampur of Brahmanbaria, Lama of Bandarban, Khalishpur of Khulna, Charfasion of Bhola, Dirai of Sunamganj, Bhairab of Kishoreganj, Bogura Sadar, Lalpur of Natore, Thakurgaon Sadar and Nawabganj of Dinajpur.
Under the programme, each eligible household will receive a modern “Family Card” equipped with a contactless chip, QR code and NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, ensuring security, durability and ease of use.
Each card will cover up to five members of a household, while larger joint families may receive multiple cards proportionately.
During the pilot phase, selected beneficiaries will receive a monthly allowance of Taka 2,500, and the government may later consider providing equivalent food assistance.
However, families will not be eligible if any member receives salary, allowance or pension from government, autonomous bodies or state-owned institutions.
Households with commercial licences, large businesses, and luxury assets such as cars or air conditioners, or savings certificates worth Taka 500,000 or more will also be excluded.
The allowance will be transferred directly to beneficiaries through the Government-to-Person (G2P) digital payment system, credited to the women’s mobile wallets or bank accounts, enabling them to receive support without delay or intermediaries.
For the pilot implementation up to June 2026, the government has allocated Taka 38.07 crore, of which Taka 25.15 crore (66.06%) will be distributed as direct cash support and Taka 12.92 crore (33.94%) will be used for programme implementation, including data collection, development of the online system and card production.
