The government has formed a cabinet committee to oversee the implementation of a proposed “Family Card” program aimed at strengthening financial protection for low income and vulnerable households.
In a notification issued Thursday, the Cabinet Division said a 15 member body has been established to design and supervise the initiative. The committee includes two full ministers and two state ministers, along with advisers and senior secretaries.
The program is expected to begin with a pilot phase in one upazila from each of the country’s eight divisions. The specific locations have not yet been selected.
Officials said the Family Card initiative is intended to make social protection programs more coordinated and better targeted. During the initial phase, priority will be given to marginal and low income families.
The committee will be chaired by the Finance Minister and will include the Minister and State Minister for Women and Children Affairs, the Minister of Social Welfare, the State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, advisers Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir and Mahdi Amin, the Cabinet Secretary and secretaries from seven ministries.
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs will provide administrative support to the committee.
According to its terms of reference, the committee will develop an appropriate design for the Family Card system, finalize criteria for beneficiary selection and determine whether any existing card programs for women can serve as a foundation. It will also prepare a digital management information system by integrating data from the national identity card system and the National Household Database.
The committee has been directed to submit a preliminary report by February 24.
