Staff Reporter :
The government has increased the number of beneficiaries and budgetary allocation under the social safety net programme considering the priority of it.
Finance Minster AHM Mustafa Kalam on Thursday proposed to increase the number of beneficiaries by two lakh and nine thousand.
Now the total number of beneficiaries will be 12 lakh 54 thousand in FY2022-2023 from 10 lakh 45 thousand in FY2021-2022, he said.
In addition, the allocation for the social safety net programmes has grown in the next fiscal year from Tk. 2,000 crore to around on lakh crore taka of the outgoing financial year. The Finance Minster in his budget speech in the parliament proposed to allocate a total of Tk. 1,13,576 crore in the budget for FY 2022-2023 for social safety net which is 16.75 percent of the total budget and 2.55 percent of GDP.
While tabling the budget in the parliament, he said that the government has expanded the social safety net to recover the economy from the crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war.
He said, the poverty rate in the country has come down to 20.5 percent and the extreme poverty rate to 10.5 percent in pre COVID-19 time.
The minister said the scope of social safety net is being expanded consistently to reduce poverty and inequality for inclusive development.
In tandem with the large-scale development, different other programmes are being implemented to meet the basic needs of the backward, destitute, helpless and marginalised communities in the society.
“We are working diligently to reduce economic inequality to ensure inclusive growth, and expanding the social safety net coverage and increasing the budget allocation each year,” he said in his budget speech.
“Already, 29 percent of households have been covered by social safety net programmes, and budget allocations have increased almost eight-fold compared to the allocation made in the budget from FY2008-2009,” he pointed out.
The minister said, disaster-prone areas, poorest areas and population density ratios are currently being considered to cover poor and vulnerable people, marginalised groups and vulnerable sections of society under social safety net programmes.
Under the social safety net programmes such as old age allowance, disability allowance and disability stipend are being distributed, he said.
The minister also said, under the poverty alleviation programmes such as rural and urban social service activities, rehabilitation of the acid burnt and disabled persons 50 percent of the beneficiaries are women.
Under the widows and deserted and destitute women allowance and rural maternity center activities, 100 percent beneficiaries are women, he said adding that the government is considering maternal and child support programmes as the best investment under social safety net programmes.
The minister also said that as part of the government’s election pledge, a policy decision has been taken to enact the ‘Universal Pension Management Act, 2022’ to introduce a universal pension system to ensure a sustainable social safety net for the elderly and the needy people.
