The government is bringing 86,709 religious institutions under a state stipend programme in the 2026-27 fiscal year. A total of 256,074 religious leaders and workers at these institutions will receive monthly stipends, funded by a Tk1,100 crore allocation in this year’s budget.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the information in a press release on Monday (August 10).
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will formally inaugurate the programme this month.
The initiative is part of implementing the government’s election manifesto. The institutions include 82,656 mosques, 3,000 temples, 752 Buddhist monasteries and 301 churches.
The ministry said about one-quarter of the country’s religious institutions will join the programme this fiscal year. It plans to bring all religious institutions under the state stipend programme in phases over the next three fiscal years.
In 2025-26, a pilot programme gave the first state stipends to 13,949 people—including imams, muezzins, khadims, priests and sebayets—at 6,017 religious institutions.
The stipends will be sent directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts through electronic fund transfer (EFT).
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report