Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday outlined progress in implementing the government’s election manifesto, including plans for the next 180 days, the upcoming fiscal year, and the next five years.
He made the remarks while responding to a question on the sixth day of the first session of the 13th National Parliament, in reply to a query from Sylhet-2 MP Tahsina Rushdi.
The prime minister said all ministries and departments are working to formulate action plans to implement the manifesto commitments within specified timeframes. He added that significant progress has already been made in several key areas.
Highlighting early initiatives, Tarique Rahman said a programme has been launched to provide “family cards” to 37,814 female-headed households in 15 wards across 13 districts, aimed at supporting marginal and low-income families.
On agricultural support, he said the government has taken steps to introduce farmer cards to ensure comprehensive protection for farmers. A pilot program will be implemented in 11 blocks across 11 upazilas in 10 districts under eight divisions through the Department of Agricultural Extension. He also noted that agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000 in the crop, livestock, and fisheries sectors have already been waived.
The prime minister said honorariums were disbursed ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr to 9,102 beneficiaries, including imams, muezzins, khadems, Hindu temple priests, Buddhist religious officials, and others.
Regarding healthcare, he said a project to issue 2.5 million e-health cards in Khulna district is currently awaiting approval under a pilot initiative.
On water management, Tarique Rahman said work has begun on a five-year programme to excavate and re-excavate 20,000km of canals. By June, 1,204km will be completed by relevant ministries, while an additional 1,500km will be re-excavated under various government schemes.
He also highlighted the government’s green afforestation program, under which 15 million saplings have already been prepared as part of a plan to plant 250 million trees over five years.
In education, the government plans to distribute free school uniforms to 200,000 primary school students within the current fiscal year. Additionally, 9,000 technical education teachers will receive tablets within 180 days, 3,832 multimedia classrooms will be established, and language training in Italian and Japanese will be provided to selected students. Free Wi-Fi is also set to be introduced in 418 technical and madrasa institutions by June 2026.
The prime minister said a central committee has been formed to identify and develop playgrounds nationwide, both in urban and rural areas.
He added that initiatives are underway to improve management of hi-tech parks and ICT centres, and to introduce PayPal services in Bangladesh.
In the sports sector, a “sports allowance” has been introduced for national athletes, with an initial target of 500 beneficiaries. So far, 129 athletes who have achieved international success have been brought under the scheme.
On student support, the unsecured loan limit for language study visas has been increased from Tk3 lakh to Tk10 lakh. The facility has been extended to students going to Japan based on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) prior to visa issuance.
