SANGSAD BHABAN, April 15, 2026 (BSS) - Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said that the government has taken necessary steps to formulate and implement action plans based on a 180-day programme to implement the commitments made in the election manifesto. "In line with the election manifesto, several important programmes have already been taken up on a priority basis and significant progress has been achieved in implementing those," he said in reply to a starred question from treasury bench member from Pabna-5 Md Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswasin in the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair. Tarique Rahman, also ruling BNP chairman, said his government has initiated the 'Family Card' programme, considering the family as the core unit of development. The programme has been launched with providing Taka 2,500 per month through 'Family Card' to the female heads of 37,814 families in 13 districts and three city corporations primarily to give protection to marginalised and low-income families, he added. The Prime Minister also said the 'Farmer Card' programme was launched on April 14 aimed at ensuring agricultural development and providing benefits to farmers such as subsidized agricultural inputs, irrigation facilities, and easy access to agricultural loans and machinery. In the pre-pilot phase, he said, the programme is being implemented in 11 agricultural blocks across 11 upazilas in 10 districts.  Additionally, as per the ruling BNP's election pledge, Tarique Rahman said agricultural loans up to Taka 10,000 in crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors have been waived.  To this end, he said, the government has already allocated a budget of Taka 1,567.96 crore, benefiting about 13 lakh 17 thousand 500 farmers across the country. The Prime Minister said under the 180-day priority programme of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, honorarium and festival allowances have already been sent to the bank accounts of 9,102 people working in mosques, temples, Buddhist monasteries/pagodas and churches under a pilot scheme.  The process of expanding the programme is underway, he added. Tarique Rahman also mentioned that an initiative has been taken to introduce 'e-Health Cards', and a project is awaiting approval to this end. Under the project, providing medical services through the e-health card to the people of five districts- Khulna, Noakhali, Bogra, Sirajganj and Narsingdi- will be launched within 180 days, he said. About the canal excavation program, the Prime Minister said, the canal excavation/re-excavation programme under the government's 180-day plans started on March 16. Until June this year, the Ministry of Water Resources, Local Government Department and Ministry of Agriculture will excavate/re-excavate 1,204 kilometers of canals, he said.  Besides, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief will re-excavate/renovate 1,500 kilometers of canals through Kabikha (food for work), Kabita (money for work) and TR (Test Relief) during this period, the premier added.  "Our plan is to excavate and re-excavate a total of 20,000 kilometers of canals and rivers in the next 5 years," the Leader of the House said. Tarique Rahman said that 1.5 crore saplings of various species have already been produced for afforestation with the aim of planting 25 crore trees and creating green jobs in five years.  "The produced saplings will be planted in the upcoming monsoon this year," he added. About the education sector, the Prime Minister said activities are going on to distribute uniforms among 2 lakh government primary school students free of cost in this fiscal year. In addition, the implementation of the 'One Teacher One Tab' plan has started in various schools in phases, he said, adding, free Wi-Fi will be introduced in 2,336 technical institutions and 8,232 madrasahs across the country within 180 days to modernize technical and madrasa education. About the infrastructural development, the Prime Minister said a committee formed at the central level is working to determine playgrounds and develop infrastructure in urban and rural areas across the country.  He said the government has a plan to create open playgrounds on 8 bighas and 10 bighas of land in each union and upazila respectively.  About the IT sector, Tarique Rahman said a committee has been formed to effectively operate the Hi-Tech/Software Parks and ICT Centers and to take effective initiatives to start PayPal's operations in Bangladesh. In line with BNP's election pledge, he said sports allowance has been introduced for national athletes under the salary structure.  "Initially, a plan has been made to bring 500 athletes under this allowance, of which 129 athletes have been provided with allowances in the first phase," the BNP chairman said. Noting that the loan limit for language student visas has been increased from Taka 3 lakh to Taka 10 lakh without security, the Prime Minister said this loan has been simplified for students going to Japan on the basis of a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) before obtaining a visa. About the energy sector, he said as part of generating 20 percent renewable electricity by 2030, a total of 35 megawatts of electricity has already been added to the national grid through the National Rooftop Solar Programme and net metering. Regarding employment, Tarique Rahman said the government has decided to recruit five lakh government employees, out of which the process of recruiting 2,879 people against vacant posts in the Ministry of Public Administration and subordinate offices and organizations is underway.