Dynamic selection process in the offing

The interim government is going to introduce a "dynamic social registry (DSR)" system to receive real-time applications seeking government support from the social safety-net programmes (SSNPs), officials said.

The online registration system is expected to check fraudulent and bad-practices in the selection process of beneficiaries and ensure transparency and accountability, said senior officials at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Cabinet Division.

After launching the system, people who are under the poverty line as well as socially displaced and vulnerable can apply and register online for the benefits, said a senior official at the MoF. However, the applicants would have to take the help of a smart phone or internet facilities.

Some of the most prevalent issues in the current beneficiary selection process are poor targeting, wasting resources, poor communication among organisations responsible for implementation of the programme, excessive overhead cost, and the complete lack of an assessment framework to measure the results.

Currently, representatives from the government authorities or the local government bodies select the beneficiaries from across the country to bring vulnerable people under the programme.

However, there are widespread allegations in the selection process, resulting in the misuse of public funds and missing the target group.

The government would bring three programmes, including old-age allowance, widow allowance and disability allowance of the Social Services Ministry, and the Women and Child support scheme under the Women and Child Affairs Ministry.

Under a pilot programme, some eight upazilas will be selected for the DSR system.

A 10-member committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, is working to introduce it soon, a cabinet division official said.

"The finance ministry's social protection budget management unit (SPBMU) is working to develop the system under the existing single registry system. Then the pilot project will start in eight upazilas on pilot basis," said a senior MoF official.

If the programme becomes successful, the government would bring all the SSNPs, including the cash transfer, under the DSR system across the country to check fraud and corruption, said the MoF official.

The World Bank has already come forward to support the Bangladesh government for introducing the DSR for making the SSNP transparent and accountable, he added.

The government in the current FY2025 budget allocated Tk 1.36 trillion for 130 SSNPs, including pensions for government officials, interest on National Savings Certificates, and agricultural subsidies. It accounts for 46 per cent of the total budget allocation for social protection in FY2025.

The social safety net budget allocation, excluding pension, national savings certificate interest, and agricultural subsidy, is around 9.0 per cent of the budget and 1.32 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The social protection programmes are to mitigate the extent of poverty by either preventing individuals from falling into poverty or by assisting them in escaping it.

In Bangladesh, 5.0 per cent of the population, or 82 million people, were living below US$2.15 per day, 30.03 per cent of the population, or 49.5 million people, were living below $3.65 per day, and 74.10 per cent of the population, or 122.3 million people were living below $6.85 per day in 2022, according to poverty estimates by the World Bank and population census by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) conducted in 2022.

The government in FY2024 provided safety net benefits under around 130 programmes and the total allocation was Tk 1.26 trillion.

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