Smartcard programme faces setback for lack of databases

The government's move to introduce smartcards for the 10 million low-income families is facing a setback due to lack of required databases, sources said.
Although Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi is frequently expressing his desire to distribute the smartcards as soon as possible, they said, no progress has so far been made to replace the hand-written manual cards with smart ones.
The move to launch the smartcards under the auspices of state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is now in the slow lane as the district administrations across the country are yet to provide the required databases, they also pointed out.
In August last, the commerce ministry asked the deputy commissioners (DCs) to provide their respective database of the beneficiary families, but most of the district administrations did not provide such information so far, according to sources at the TCB.
Only six district administrations - Cumilla, Khagrachari, Gopalgonja, Narshindi, Rajbari and Manikgonj - have provided such data until October 03.
"There is hardly any progress in this regard," said a senior official at the commerce ministry. "We have again asked the DCs to provide their respective database of the cardholder families as early as possible."
Earlier, the government started the process of replacing the manual cards with smart ones to facilitate smooth distribution of essentials among the poor families, he noted. The initial work in this regard was also completed by the government.
A pilot project to convert the TCB's family cards into smart ones has already been completed in Dhaka North City Corporation, Narayanganj and Barisal.
All the cardholder families are supposed to get the smartcards in phases.
Earlier, the commerce minister expected that the existing discrepancies will be eliminated if the manual (hand-written) cards are converted into smartcards.
As per the instruction of the Prime Minister, some key essential items are sold at subsidised prices among the cardholder families throughout the year, he added.
The government is considering increasing the number of beneficiary families under the TCB sales drive.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-owned TCB has been selling soybean oil, sugar, rice, lentils and onion every month at subsidised prices.
From July 2023, the cardholder families can buy every month 5.0 kg of rice at a price of Tk 30 per kg in addition to other commodities.

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