The interim government is expected to increase the amount of cash assistance by about Tk聽1,750 crore and the number of beneficiaries by about 4 lakh under the social safety net programme in the 2025-26 financial year national budget to be announced next month.
Officials of the Finance Division said that the allocation for cash transfer to about a dozen of allowances distributed by the social welfare ministry to old age, widows, person with disabilities and others was likely to increase to Tk聽19,707 crore in FY26 from Tk聽17,957 crore in the outgoing FY25.
The rate of monthly allowance is likely to be enhanced by Tk聽50 to Tk聽150, they said, observing that the recommendations made by the task force in its report on the 鈥楻e-strategising the economy and mobilising resources for equitable and sustainable development鈥� were followed against the backdrop of high inflation prevailing in the country over the past three years.
The old age allowance at a new rate of Tk聽650 (which is Tk聽600 in FY25) will be given to 29 lakh persons, up from 27.25 lakh beneficiaries in the outgoing FY25.
The allowance for widows will be increased by Tk聽100 to Tk聽650 while the number of beneficiaries will go up to 29 lakh from 27.75 lakh.
The allowance for persons with disabilities will be increased by Tk聽50 to Tk 900 and the number to 34.50 lakh from 32.34 lakh.
The allowance for Bede people will be increased by Tk 150 to Tk聽650 and the number will go up to 11,988 from 10,898. The number of Bede children, who receive monthly stipend of Tk聽700-1,200, will increase to 4,838 from 4,398.
The monthly allowance of Tk聽600 for a transgender will go up to Tk聽650 while some 86,000 persons, up from 68,000 persons, identified as members of the backward section of society will be given monthly allowance of Tk聽650, up from Tk 500.
The allocation for tea workers will triple to Tk聽108 crore from Tk聽36.26 crore while the monthly allocation for 鈥楳other and Child Support鈥� programme will increase to Tk聽1,819 crore from Tk 1,600 crore.
Dhaka University鈥檚 Department of Development Studies teacher Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir said that the allocation under the social safety net programme for needy people in the country was insufficient.
There is no option but to increase the rate of allowances for the country鈥檚 transition towards a social welfare state, he said.
The finance ministry officials said interest assistance from the social safety net programme was likely to be excluded in an effort to redesign the overall social safety net spending.
Besides, the controversial Ashrayan projects and the construction of Joyeeta Tower will also be excluded while the martyrs in the July-August uprising will be included in the programme for the same amount of monthly allowance of Tk聽20,000 received by the martyrs in the country鈥檚 Liberation War fought against the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971, they said.
About 834 people have been identified as martyrs during the July-August 2024 uprising that ousted authoritarian Awami League regime and installed the interim government.
The task force in its report identified that the allocations for about 21 programmes, including pension for retired government employees and their families, savings certificate interest assistance, the Ashrayan projects, the printing and distribution of free textbook, public administration ministry鈥檚 welfare grants, capacity building of Joyeeta Foundation and the construction of Joyeeta Tower, had been included in the safety net programme to inflate the programme worth Tk聽1.36 lakh crore in the outgoing FY25.
Alone the allocation of Tk聽36,580 crore for pension for retired government employees and their families accounts for over one fourth of the overall social safety net budget while the allocation for savings certificate interest assistance is over Tk聽8,000 crore for FY25.
The Finance Division officials said the exclusion of savings certificate interest assistance and Ashrayan projects and capacity building of Joyeeta Foundation and the construction of Joyeeta would lead to a reduction in the overall safety net budget to Tk聽1.20 lakh crore.
By keeping most of the identified allocations that, according to the task force, are not aligned with the International Labour Organisation鈥檚 definition of social safety, the interim government is also showing a tendency to inflating the programme鈥檚 overall spending, said economists.
Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Fahmida Khatun said that the tendency to show an inflated programme would not be beneficial for the poor relegating to poverty due to almost double digit inflation since 2023.
Social protection spending in the outgoing financial year accounts for 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product and 17 per cent of the national budget.
However, the allocation drops significantly to only 1.2 per cent of the GDP and 7 per cent of the budget if the identified allocations would be dropped, according to the task force report.
The World Social Protection Report 2024鈥�26, published by the ILO, estimates that Bangladesh spends just 0.9 per cent of its GDP on social protection, well below the South Asian regional average of 3.8 per cent, as well as the averages of 4.2 per cent and 8.5 per cent for lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries, respectively, added the report.
A World Bank report 鈥楤angladesh Development Update鈥� released on April 23 said that three million people in Bangladesh were risking to fall below the extreme poverty line this year due to the ongoing slowdown in economic activities.
Fahmida, also a member of the task force, however, welcomed the moves of delisting some controversial components from the social safety net budget, saying it was a limited beginning to start a reform in this regard.
She hoped that the reform would be intensified in the coming years.
