Social safety net gets Tk 1,07,614cr allocation

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed an allocation of Tk 1,07,614 crore for social safety net in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget.

The proposed allocation is 17.83 per cent of the budget and 3.11 per cent of the total GDP, he said while placing a Tk 6,03,681 crore budget in Parliament on Thursday.

The allocation increased by Tk 12,040 crore compared to the outgoing 2020-21 FY.

Minister Kamal said stagnation caused by the coronavirus pandemic posed challenges to poverty alleviation. He said the government plans to cut the poverty rate to 12.3 per cent and the extreme poverty rate to 4.5 per cent by 2023-2024 FY.

Meanwhile, the monthly honorarium of freedom fighters has been proposed at Tk 20,000 from Tk 12,000. Tk 1,920 crore has been earmarked for the honorarium.

As per the latest disability identification survey, the number of beneficiaries of the Insolvent Disabled Person Allowance Programme will increase by 2.02 lakh. The allocation for this programme will increase by Tk 200 crore in the next fiscal.

All widows and deserted women in the most poverty-stricken 150 upazilas will come under the 'Allowance for Widows, Deserted and Destitute Women' programme in the new FY.

This will add 4.25 lakh new beneficiaries and an additional Tk 255 crore will be allocated for this purpose.

In the current FY, 100 per cent of poor and elderly people in the most poverty-stricken 150 upazilas will be brought under the 'old age allowance' programme which will cover 8 lakh new beneficiaries.

An additional allocation of Tk 481 crore has been proposed for this.