Budget expands social safety net in pandemic

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-21 is aiming to bring more people under the social safety net in an effort to alleviate the plight of lower-income and vulnerable groups which have been hit hardest by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed an allocation of Tk 955.74 billion in the social security sector, which is 16.83 percent of the total budget and 3.01 percent of the GDP in FY2020-21.  In the revised budget of FY2019-20, the allocation was Tk 818.65 billion.

The funds will be used to implement and expand the coverage of various social security programmes designed to reduce poverty in the country.

"As the government enforced general holidays, lockdowns, closure of factories and businesses to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections, income of the common people has reduced, which now threatens our achievements in poverty alleviation and social security," Kamal noted.

In order to overcome the crisis, the government has taken an initiative to make direct cash transfers to 5 million people in the current fiscal year to alleviate the sufferings of the poor working people, the finance minister said.

Kamal presented a set of proposals to widen the remit of social safety net programmes in FY2020-21. These include bringing all poor citizens, widows and women deserted by their husbands in 100 Upazilas most prone to poverty due to the coronavirus outbreak under the government's allowance schemes.

The number of beneficiaries of the allowance for insolvent persons with disabilities will also be increased to 1.8 million under the initiative.

Kamal also proposed an allocation of Tk 1 billion in FY 2020-21 for the ‘Rural Social Services Programme’ to keep the rural economy moving in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and create self-employment opportunities for the poor and vulnerable people in rural areas.