Social safety should prioritise the poor only

Inclusive development is one of the 10 broad themes on which the BNP government prepared its proposed budget for FY2026-27, yet a closer look into social safety net (SSN) reveals the same old tendency of inflating the social protection portfolio. A total allocation of Tk 144,338 crore has been proposed for this sector. This is nearly a 14 percent increase from the revised FY2025-26 budget. However, much of the increase will go to agricultural subsidies and civil service pensions, rather than pro-poor programmes.

Reportedly, only 48 of 90 SSN programmes are pro-poor, receiving Tk 56,229 crore or 39 percent of the total allocation. But agricultural subsidies and pensions for lower-level government employees together will receive 43.2 percent of the allocation. It is unclear why agricultural subsidies are included in the SSN allocation when agriculture already has a separate budget. The same argument can be made against pensions. What rationale justifies including these under SSN except to inflate the total figure? Although interest on savings certificates and various paper-based block allocations previously included in the SSN budget were removed last year, experts opine that keeping pensions under this particular category is not justified. We hope that the finance minister will follow through with the necessary changes in either the revised or the next proposed budget.

There is actually no need to inflate figures if the intention to improve the situation is in the right place. For example, the FY2027 budget proposes several new and positive initiatives other than the family and farmers’ cards. There is an allocation for monthly honorariums and festival allowances for 2.6 lakh religious leaders of different faiths, 15,000 unemployed workers will receive a monthly allowance of Tk 5,000 for up to three months, and 15 lakh poor working people will receive cash equivalent to 110,000 tonnes of rice under an integrated Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) scheme. The number of beneficiaries of allowance programmes for senior citizens, widows, and persons with disabilities is being increased. Allowances are also increasing in some of the programmes, though by a marginal amount—not enough to cover food inflation. Perhaps the increase in allowance could have been more meaningful if the allocation of Tk 62,379 crore for pension and agricultural subsidies under SSN could instead be used for pro-poor programmes.

The other reasons why the social safety net allocation has been ineffective in the past were mistargeting, fragmentation, and leakages. In this regard, the BNP government plans to implement the Dynamic Social Registry, which will contain names, addresses and contact information of the beneficiaries, to prevent duplication of benefits. But this would only be helpful if implemented properly, a measure that requires administrative reforms across several ministries handling the social protection portfolio. The challenge is not presenting good intentions on paper; it is making them come true.