Home ›› 04 Jun 2021 ›› World Biz
Nagad has welcomed the government’s move to increase the allocation for the social safety net in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2021-22.
The mobile financial service (MFS) wing of the Postal Department said this on Friday in its reaction to the budget proposal.
Regarding the proposed increase in the social safety net, Nagad's Managing Director Tanvir Ahmed Mishuk said, “To ensure transparency and speedy disbursement of funds, Nagad is now the first choice of the government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year directed to disburse government allowance through Nagad. Following the directive, the government's relevant offices started disbursing their allowance through Nagad which increased government oversight on the process.”
“Moreover, if the social safety net funds are disbursed through MFS, it helps digitalisation of financial sector and strengthens socioeconomic factors,” he said.
“We believe that day is not far when Nagad will digitalise the entire government financial allowance service and the beneficiaries will enjoy their deserved money with ease. We hope the government will disburse the social safety net funds through Nagad this year,” Nagad MD added.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed to increase the social safety net allocation by 17.83 per cent to Tk 107,624 crore during his budget speech on Thursday.
With this additional budget allocation, the size of the social safety net would reach 3.11 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. The government also brought 14 lakh new citizens under the social safety net programme.
In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the size of the social safety net was Tk 95,574 crore which played a crucial role in the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic.
