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Published : 17 Mar 2026, 02:58 PM
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has completed his first month in office, with the government highlighting a burst of activity across welfare, administration, the economy, and public services as evidence of an earnest push to deliver on its election pledges.
Tarique was sworn in by President Shahabuddin on Feb 17 after the BNP assumed power on the back of a landslide win in the national election five days prior.
On Monday, Prime Minister’s Advisor Mahdi Amin, who oversees several ministries, including education, labour and expatriates’ welfare, took to Facebook post to outline the government’s major steps during its first 28 days in office.
In the post titled "The prime minister’s 28 steps in 28 days: An unprecedented effort”, Mahdi said the new administration had worked “tirelessly” from its first days in office and portrayed the measures as a reflection of its accountability to the people.
The initiatives cited by the advisor span a wide range of areas, from social protection and religious honorariums to agricultural support, canal excavation, market monitoring, foreign investment, workers’ wages, education reform, healthcare recruitment, dengue prevention, law and order, women’s safety and efforts to reduce state spending.
The 28 steps to mark Tarique's first 28 days in office, as set out in Mahdi's post, are outlined below.
SOCIAL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
In its first month, the government has highlighted a series of welfare-focused measures aimed at direct support for low-income groups and religious service providers, according to Mahdi. These include the rollout of family cards for more than 37,000 households, each tied to monthly assistance of Tk 2,500, as well as monthly honorariums for imams, muazzins, priests, pastors and Buddhist religious leaders.
Ahead of Eid, relief items and gifts have also been allocated for poor families and sanitation workers. Alongside these steps, the government says it has begun work on an institutional Zakat system intended to channel support more systematically to the poor and welfare programmes.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ECONOMY
Mahdi also pointed to measures aimed at supporting farmers and reviving rural infrastructure, noting that farmer cards were set to be distributed to nearly 27,000 farmers, while small agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 for around 1.2 million small and marginal farmers would be waived.
At the same time, a nationwide canal excavation programme has already begun in dozens of districts, with the stated aims of improving irrigation, easing waterlogging and generating rural employment.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM AND GOVERNANCE
A major part of the government’s messaging in its opening month has focused on discipline, restraint and administrative reform. It has stressed the prime minister’s own work routine, including office attendance on Saturdays, and tighter expectations for officials to report by 9am.
It has also highlighted a reduction in VVIP protocol, simplified airport receptions, and the decision to forgo certain privileges traditionally enjoyed by MPs, such as duty-free cars and government plots.
ECONOMY AND MARKET STABILITY
On the economic front, Mahdi said the government has focused on stabilising prices, protecting energy supply and maintaining industrial activity. The administration has spoken of market monitoring to curb price rises during Ramadan and Eid, and of spot LNG purchases to keep electricity generation steady amid global fuel uncertainty.
It has also eased rules around the repatriation of foreign investment, saying prior central bank approval will no longer be needed for amounts up to Tk 1 billion.
At the same time, it says it has moved to ensure timely payment of workers’ wages and Eid bonuses, especially in export industries, while also looking to reopen closed state-owned factories and activate underused economic zones, EPZs, hi-tech parks and industrial clusters.
EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
In education and human resource development, the government has outlined a mix of cost relief, access measures and value-based initiatives. It says annual readmission fees have been scrapped and lottery-based admissions are to be replaced by more structured tests or interviews.
It has also promised to improve teachers’ facilities and benefits. For students seeking higher education abroad, the government says it will offer state-backed unsecured bank guarantees of up to Tk 1 million. Other measures include the recruitment of 9,000 religious teachers and the revival or expansion of sports and cultural initiatives under the Notun Kuri programme, including the appointment of sports teachers at the Upazila level.
HEALTH AND PUBLIC WELFARE
In health, Mahdi noted that the government had begun introducing e-health cards to make services more accessible, while also starting recruitment for 100,000 health workers, most of them women. This has been paired with a weekly nationwide anti-dengue cleanliness campaign to be carried out with the involvement of local administrations and communities.
LAW AND ORDER AND SECURITY
On security, the government said it has instructed intelligence and law-enforcing agencies to move quickly against extortion and to treat law and order as a top priority.
It has also announced steps aimed at women’s safety, including plans for women-operated “pink buses” and stronger action against cyberbullying.
GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC ORDER
The final cluster of measures has been framed around state discipline, symbolism and public values.
Mahdi said the government has limited official Iftar arrangements and ordered energy-saving measures in offices, such as using fewer fans and air conditioners, in an effort to reduce waste.
He also pointed to the eviction of long-standing illegal shops at Sugandha Beach in Cox’s Bazar as an example of enforcement action.
Other steps include declaring Feb 25 as National Martyred Army Day, renewing emphasis on a transparent trial over the Pilkhana killings, pushing to open the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and expanding free Wi-Fi services at airports and on trains.
Mahdi said the steps taken in the first month reflected Tarique’s leadership, work ethic and commitment to translating public expectations into action.
The post cast the opening weeks of the administration as an effort to combine symbolism with action, presenting the government’s first month as a period of rapid movement across multiple fronts rather than a focus on any single flagship policy.
Tarique spent part of the final day of his first month in office at the Secretariat despite the start of the Eid holiday, according to officials.
On Monday, he also inaugurated excavation work on the Sahapara Canal in Dinajpur.
