Prime Minister Tarique Rahman informed Parliament that the government has taken an initiative to launch the ‘e-Health Card’ programme on a pilot basis in five districts within 180 days of assuming office.
Replying to a starred question from ruling party lawmaker Md Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswas in the Jatiya Sangsad, the Prime Minister said a project for the programme is awaiting approval.
Under the pilot phase, e-Health Card services will be introduced in Khulna, Noakhali, Bogura, Sirajganj and Narsingdi.
He said the e-Health Card will be linked with the Electronic Referral System and the Electronic Patient Management System to improve healthcare services.
Highlighting the government’s progress under its 180-day action plan, Tarique Rahman said Family Cards have already been distributed to 60,044 families in 36 units under the pilot phase of the programme for women heads of households.
He said 20,748 farmers have also received Farmer Cards under a pre-pilot programme covering 11 agricultural blocks in 11 upazilas across 10 districts.
The Prime Minister noted that agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 in the crop, livestock and fisheries sectors have been waived as part of the government’s election commitments.
He also said monthly honorariums are currently being provided to religious leaders serving at 4,908 mosques, 990 temples, 144 Buddhist monasteries and pagodas and 396 churches. The government plans to gradually extend the benefit to all places of worship.
Tarique Rahman said excavation and re-excavation work is underway on 666 canals with a total length of 965.04 kilometres under the Ministry of Water Resources, Local Government Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
As part of the government’s afforestation programme, around 3.14 crore saplings will be planted during the upcoming monsoon season under the target of planting 25 crore trees nationwide.
The Prime Minister said the government plans to distribute free school uniforms to 200,000 students in government primary schools during the next fiscal year.
He also announced the gradual implementation of the “One Teacher One Tab” programme in schools.
In the education sector, he said the unsecured loan limit for language student visas has been increased from Tk 3 lakh to Tk 10 lakh. Loan disbursement for students going to Japan has also been simplified based on the Certificate of Eligibility before visa issuance.
To achieve the target of generating 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, he said 35 megawatts of electricity has already been added to the national grid through rooftop solar systems and net metering.
The Prime Minister further said the Ministry of Youth and Sports has launched the “Notun Kuri Sports-2026” programme to identify sporting talent among children aged between 12 and 14.
The initiative covers eight disciplines — football, cricket, kabaddi, athletics, badminton, chess, swimming and martial arts.
