Government to roll out pilot ‘e-Health Card’ programme in five districts, says PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today told the Jatiya Sangsad that the government has initiated steps to introduce the ‘e-Health Card’ programme on a pilot basis in five districts within 180 days of assuming office.

Speaking in response to a starred question from ruling party lawmaker Md Shamsur Rahman Simul Biswas of Pabna-5, the prime minister said a project proposal is currently awaiting approval. Once cleared, e-Health Card services will be rolled out in Khulna, Noakhali, Bogura, Sirajganj and Narsingdi within the government's first 180 days.

He said the e-Health Card system will be integrated with the Electronic Referral System and the Electronic Patient Management System to improve healthcare service delivery.

The Leader of the House made the remarks during the parliamentary session chaired by Speaker Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram.

Highlighting progress made under the government's 180-day action plan, aligned with its election pledges, Tarique Rahman, who also serves as chairman of the BNP, said 60,044 families in 36 units have already received Family Cards under the pilot phase of a programme targeting women-headed households.

He added that 20,748 farmers in 11 agricultural blocks across 10 districts and eight divisions have received Farmer Cards under the programme's pre-pilot phase.

The prime minister also noted that the government has waived agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 in the crop, livestock and fisheries sectors as part of its election commitments.

He 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, with plans to gradually extend the scheme to all places of worship.

According to Tarique Rahman, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Local Government Division, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief are jointly carrying out excavation and re-excavation works on 666 canals spanning 965.04 kilometres.

As part of the government's goal of planting 25 crore trees and generating green employment opportunities, around 3.14 crore saplings will be planted during the upcoming monsoon season, he said.

The premier further announced plans to distribute free school uniforms to 200,000 students in government primary schools during the next fiscal year and gradually implement the “One Teacher One Tab” programme nationwide.

He also said the unsecured loan ceiling for language student visas has been raised from Tk 3 lakh to Tk 10 lakh, while loan disbursement for students travelling to Japan has been simplified through the use of Certificates of Eligibility prior to visa issuance.

To support the target of producing 20 percent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2030, the government has already added 35 megawatts of power to the national grid through the National Rooftop Solar Programme and net metering initiatives, he added.

Tarique Rahman also said the Ministry of Youth and Sports has launched the “Notun Kuri Sports-2026” programme to identify young sporting talent aged between 12 and 14 years.

The programme covers eight disciplines—football, cricket, kabaddi, athletics, badminton, chess, swimming and martial arts.