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Published : 03 Jun 2025, 01:08 AM
The interim government has announced plans to increase both the coverage and benefit amounts under ongoing social safety net programmes, as well as introduce new initiatives.
Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed announced that the lowest monthly allowances under social security programmes run by the social welfare ministry for the 2025–26 financial year will be increased by Tk 50 to Tk 100.
For the upcoming fiscal year, a total allocation of Tk 1.16 trillion has been proposed for the social security sector. Of this, Tk 352.82 billion is earmarked for pensions.
Excluding the benefit, the allocation for social protection programmes in FY2025–26 stands at Tk 812.97 billion. Notably, the premium the government pays on savings certificates’ interest has been removed from next year’s security budget.
The social security budget report published by the Finance Division discusses the promotion of the labour market, social insurance, community development and technical education support.
According to the report, in the next fiscal year, the number of beneficiaries under elderly allowance will increase by 99,000. For widows and abandoned women, the number will expand by 125,000.
The number of beneficiaries among people with disabilities and education stipends will increase by 197,000. The underserved population sector will include an additional 94,000 people.
The number of beneficiaries under disability services and help centres will increase by 200,000. Under the Mother and Child Support Programme, beneficiaries will increase by 116,000.
The number of stipends for primary school students will rise by 200,000. Scholarships under the Technical and Madrasah Education Division will climb by 990,000.
In addition, the government has projected to provide open market sale (OMS) benefits to over 1.1 million more people than currently. It also plans to include 337,000 people in the Food Friendly Programme newly. In the next fiscal year, 50,000 people are expected to receive pension benefits.
The finance advisor said a Dynamic Social Registries (DSR) is under way to ensure the right people are selected as beneficiaries under the social security programmes.
He added, “This budget aims to reduce poverty, social inequality and improve the standard of living for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable populations by increasing both the coverage and the per capita allocation.”
The budget size for the 2025–26 fiscal year has been set at Tk 7.9 trillion, which is Tk 70 billion less than the current (2024–25) fiscal year’s budget. This is the country’s 54th and the first budget of the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Referring to the scope and stipend amounts in social security programmes, economist Sayema Haque Bidisha advised focusing more on transparency and the accurate selection of beneficiaries.
The Dhaka University pro-vice chancellor said, “There must be no mis-targeting at the grassroots level. The criteria for selecting beneficiaries need to be updated, and so do the lists. Additionally, there should be an allocation for the urban poor population and this must focus on their employment opportunities.”
