Facing stubborn inflation, widening inequality, and growing pressure on household incomes, the government is preparing its biggest expansion of social welfare spending in decades, placing cash transfers, farmer support, and targeted assistance at the centre of the upcoming FY27 budget.
Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury is set to place a Tk938,000 crore budget before parliament on Thursday, with social protection emerging as one of its defining pillars.
According to finance ministry sources, total social safety net spending is expected to rise to Tk145,000 crore, up from Tk117,000 crore in the outgoing FY26 -- an increase of nearly Tk28,000 crore.
The centrepiece of the welfare package is a new "Family Card" program under which 4.1 million women-led households will receive Tk2,500 a month in direct cash assistance.
The government plans to spend more than Tk12,000 crore on the scheme in its first year, with long-term plans to expand coverage to over 16 million families.
Officials say the program is intended to create a more targeted welfare system while reducing duplication and leakages in existing safety-net schemes.
The budget will also introduce a nationwide Farmer Card program covering 4.25 million farmers, each receiving an annual cash grant of Tk2,500.
Policymakers say the initiative will create a digital database to support future agricultural subsidies, credit facilities, and input distribution.
Existing allowances for the elderly, widows, vulnerable women, and persons with disabilities are also expected to increase, alongside expanded beneficiary coverage.
In one of the budget's most significant new measures, the government plans to introduce monthly honorariums for more than 255,000 employees of mosques, temples, churches, and Buddhist monasteries.
The welfare package will further include monthly allowances for families of those killed and injured during the July uprising, as well as temporary income support for unemployed workers.
Healthcare support is also set to expand. Financial assistance for patients suffering from cancer, kidney disease, liver cirrhosis, thalassemia, and other critical illnesses will be significantly increased, while beneficiary numbers will be expanded.
To address longstanding concerns over leakages and ghost beneficiaries, the government plans to link all welfare programs to national identity cards and digital birth registration records.
A new Dynamic Social Registry will be introduced to digitally verify and track beneficiaries across programs.
With inflation continuing to erode purchasing power and economic pressures weighing heavily on low-income households, the government is betting that its largest-ever social protection package can provide immediate relief while strengthening the country's long-term welfare architecture.
