REJAUL KARIM BYRON

Bangladesh and the International Monetary Fund are locked in new disagreements over the country’s economic programme, with tensions centring on social spending, revenue mobilisation, exchange rate policy, and the pace of financial sector reforms.

The latest flashpoint is the government’s flagship “family card” scheme, a social protection initiative central to the ruling party’s election manifesto. During meetings in Washington, the IMF raised concerns about the cost of rapid implementation, urging Dhaka to conduct a feasibility study before committing substantial expenditure, officials familiar with the discussions told The Daily Star yesterday.

The social welfare ministry has already requested Tk 13,000 crore from the finance ministry for the next fiscal year to cover family cards for 40 lakh households -- a sum that would make it one of the largest single expansions of social welfare spending in Bangladesh.

The IMF also pressed the government to align the scheme with existing social safety

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