JS-46 TK. 1,07,614 cr. allocated for social safety net programmes

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JS-46

BUDGET-ALLOCATION-SOCIAL SAFETY NET

TK. 1,07,614 cr. allocated for social safety net programmes

DHAKA, June 03,2021 (BSS) – The government has proposed Tk. 1,07,614 crore for the social safety net programmes for FY-21-22 to bring more destitute and backward population under protection.

“The amount is 17.83 percent of the total budget and 3.11 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)”, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while placing the national budget for FY 21-22 in the Jatiya Sangsad today.

For the first time in the history of budget allocations, the amount meant for the poor and vulnerable crossed Tk 1 lakh crore-mark which was Tk. 95,574 crore in last year’s revised budget, he added.

The funds will be used to implement the coverage of various social safety net programmes designed to reduce poverty in the country, he added.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, the government has plans to reduce the poverty rate to 12.3 percent and the extreme poverty rate to 4.5 percent by 2023-2024.

`To protect the country’s poorest segment from unemployment and loss of income due to the pandemic, our government has taken steps to widen the coverage of the social safety net,’ he added.

“From the next fiscal year, the coverage of the deserving poor elderly people will be extended to 150 most poverty-stricken upazilas from the existing 120 upazilas. This will add 8 lakh new beneficiaries, and an additional allocation of Tk 481 crore”, the minister said.

Similarly, he said, the coverage is being increased for widows and destitute women, which will add 4.25 lakh new beneficiaries and an additional allocation of Tk 255 crore.

The minister said the government proposed to increase the number of beneficiaries of the Insolvent Disabled Person Allowance Programme by 2.02 lakh as per the latest disability identification survey. As a result, the allocation of this programme will increase by Tk 200 crore in FY 2021-22, he added.

BSS/ASG/TIT/KU/1928 HRS