Income, assets, living standards to determine who will get Family Card
The data-driven system will automatically assign a poverty score ranging from 0 to 1,000 to determine eligibility.
The government is set to introduce a scientific scoring system to determine eligibility of Family Card beneficiaries based on their income, occupation, assets and living standards – and thus avoid chances of any fraud, duplication or political influence.
The draft "Family Card Implementation Policy 2026," formulated by the Ministry of Social Welfare, proposes using a Proxy Means Test (PMT) to evaluate households. The data-driven system will automatically assign a poverty score ranging from 0 to 1,000 to determine eligibility.
The draft policy received in-principle approval on 15 June during the fourth meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Family Card Distribution, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. Officials said the social welfare ministry will shortly publish the draft on its website to gather feedback from ministries, divisions, and public stakeholders.
The proposed framework aims to modernise the national social safety net, enhance transparency, prevent affluent households from exploiting the system, and stop individuals from drawing multiple government benefits simultaneously.
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Priority for poorest households
According to the draft, the entire population will be classified into five economic groups based on Proxy Means Test scores: extremely poor, poor, vulnerable lower-income, middle-income, and affluent households.
Families scoring between 0 and 777 will be classified as extremely poor, those scoring between 778 and 796 as poor, and those scoring between 797 and 814 as vulnerable lower-income households. Extremely poor families will automatically qualify for the scheme, while poor households will receive priority during the pilot phase and the initial rollout.
Households with scores above 814 will not be eligible. Lower-middle-income and middle-income households will not initially be included, while affluent households will be excluded altogether.
The draft also proposes adjustments to the scoring methodology for ethnic minority communities in the Chattogram Hill Tracts and the plains, reflecting differences in family structures, inheritance practices and asset ownership. Additional priority may be given to families living in haor areas, coastal regions, islands, chars, densely populated slums and floating settlements.
Who will be excluded
The draft policy excludes several categories of individuals and households, irrespective of their Proxy Means Test score.
These include government and semi-government employees, employees of government-subsidised educational institutions, pensioners, taxpayers, holders of savings certificates worth Tk5 lakh or more, owners of four-wheeled motor vehicles, and owners of commercial enterprises.
Households owning at least 0.50 acre of cultivable land, or non-agricultural or commercial land valued at more than Tk5 lakh, will also be deemed ineligible.
To verify information, authorities plan to connect digitally with databases maintained by the National Identity system, the National Board of Revenue, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, the Ministry of Land, the Registrar General of Birth and Death Registration, and commercial banks. The policy also allows the government to introduce artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to detect inconsistencies and fraud within the social registry.
Conditions for existing welfare recipients and TIB findings
The draft policy states that households enrolled in the programme will not be permitted to receive similar government cash or food assistance simultaneously through the designated female cardholder.
As a result, beneficiaries of schemes such as the TCB Smart Family Card, food friendly programmes, Vulnerable Women Benefit, old-age allowance, widow and abandoned women allowance, disability allowance and other comparable assistance programmes would have to relinquish those benefits to qualify.
Authorities may verify beneficiary information through a central database and cancel overlapping benefits where necessary.
Bangladesh currently operates 95 social safety-net programmes under 23 ministries. However, allegations have persisted that many beneficiaries are not poor enough to qualify for assistance.
A study published by the Transparency International Bangladesh on 2 December 2025 found that many eligible poor people were excluded while ineligible individuals received benefits.
The study alleged the involvement of local government representatives, village police, social welfare workers, officials, mobile financial service agents and brokers in irregularities related to beneficiary selection.
Nationwide survey and digital registry
To build a reliable database of beneficiaries, the government plans to conduct a nationwide family survey using information technology and geolocation-based methods.
The survey will follow the technical standards and experience of the 2022 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Geographic information systems and digital mapping technologies will be used to identify households precisely and minimise duplication or omissions.
The policy also proposes the creation of an integrated technology-based platform to reduce errors in beneficiary selection and limit opportunities for intermediaries to influence the process. Welfare payments and other benefits will be transferred directly to beneficiaries through electronic fund transfer systems.
The Family Card programme will ultimately be integrated into a dynamic social registry designed to connect beneficiary households with life-cycle-based services, including education, healthcare and agricultural support.
Women to be primary cardholders
The draft policy proposes issuing Family Cards in the name of the mother or the most senior female member of a household. Each card will cover up to five family members.
Households with more than five members may receive additional cards for every subsequent group of five people, meaning large joint families could hold multiple cards.
If a female cardholder dies, the card may be transferred to another eligible adult female member of the family following approval by the Upazila Committee.
Where no eligible female member exists, the card may be transferred to the male head of the household with approval from the District Committee. However, the Finance Division has raised objections to this provision.
Targeting 1.61cr families
The Family Card programme is one of the BNP government's key election pledges. A pilot phase was launched on 10 March, and the government aims to survey 4.1 crore families by 2030. Of these, 1.61 crore low-income households are expected to be brought under the scheme's cash assistance component.
In his budget speech for fiscal 2026-27 on 11 June, the finance minister said that 60,044 female household heads are already receiving benefits through the initiative. He also announced plans to distribute Family Cards to 41 lakh women by June 2027.
The proposed budget allocation for the scheme in the next fiscal year stands at Tk14,500 crore.
Programme objectives
According to the draft policy, the scheme aims to strengthen food security for poor and low-income households while helping meet other basic needs.
It is also intended to provide direct financial assistance to elderly people, widows, persons with disabilities and marginalised women.
The policy states that the long-term objective is to improve beneficiaries' self-reliance and reduce dependency on state support.
Benefits under the scheme
Under the proposed framework, beneficiaries will receive a monthly cash allowance at a rate determined by the government.
Payments will be deposited directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts or mobile financial service accounts. The government has already announced a monthly allowance of Tk2,500 under the scheme.
Cardholders will also be able to purchase subsidised essential commodities, including rice, lentils and edible oil. Emergency relief assistance during disasters may also be distributed through the card's embedded chip or QR code system.
The policy states that beneficiary information will be reviewed periodically. Households whose economic conditions improve beyond the eligibility threshold will formally graduate from the programme, making room for newly eligible poor families.
Administrative cost estimated at Tk2,113cr
According to officials at the Ministry of Social Welfare, the administrative cost of implementing the Family Card programme through 2030 has been estimated at Tk2,113 crore.
Of that amount, Tk904 crore has already been approved, while the remaining Tk1,209 crore is expected to be approved in phases.
The funds will cover data collection, training, information technology infrastructure, recruitment of personnel, vehicles, office operations and other implementation costs.
Initial estimates suggest that 73,776 permanent and temporary workers will be involved in data collection activities, with Tk905 crore allocated for salaries, allowances and training.
