PM announces plan for 'Universal Card' to integrate all citizen welfare services

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday announced plans to introduce a "Universal Card" that will consolidate all government welfare benefits under a single platform to strengthen the social and financial security of citizens.

Delivering his winding-up speech on the budget during the second session of Parliament, the prime minister said the proposed card would eventually integrate existing schemes, including the Family Card, Farmer Card, Sports Card, Expatriate Card and special cards issued to imams, muezzins and religious leaders.

The sitting was presided over by Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal.

"The benefits provided through these cards are not acts of charity by the state but its responsibility towards citizens," the prime minister said.

He said citizens would, in future, be able to access all government welfare services through a single identity and card under the proposed Universal Card system.

Highlighting the government's commitment to farmers, Tarique Rahman said a large proportion of Bangladesh's population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and that the country's overall development is impossible without improving the economic condition of farmers.

Recalling a pledge made by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) before the last general election, he said the government had promised to waive agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000, including interest, for marginal farmers if it came to power.

The prime minister told Parliament that the decision was taken at the first cabinet meeting after the government assumed office.

"As a result, nearly 1.3 million marginal farmers across the country whose agricultural loans were up to Tk10,000 have had their outstanding loans, including interest, fully waived," he said, adding that farmers had already begun to benefit from the measure.

The prime minister also underscored the importance of expanding social protection programmes and called for political consensus in implementing such initiatives.

Referring to a question raised by an opposition lawmaker about when Family Cards would be distributed in his constituency, Tarique Rahman said he was encouraged by the bipartisan support for the programme.

He thanked the opposition leader and other opposition MPs for supporting welfare-oriented social protection policies such as the Family Card.