The government's subsidy bill for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will fall by Tk 300 to 350 crore a year as the agency's operations go digital and modernised, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir said on Thursday, adding that the goal is to bring TCB's subsidy down to zero within the next five years.

The minister made the remarks while inaugurating the "Digital Transformation of TCB" programme at TCB Bhaban in the capital's Karwan Bazar on Thursday morning.

TCB is an extremely important institution for the people of the country, the minister said, adding that the new digital platform will make it easier for beneficiaries to collect their products.

He said the digital system will make TCB's operations more modern, transparent, efficient and people-friendly, and will increase accountability in product distribution and management.

Under the new system, TCB's nearly 80 lakh cardholding beneficiaries will be able to purchase products through a mobile app, doing away with the need to carry a card or cash. Dealers, too, will get the option to receive goods and settle payments online, he said.

The minister expressed hope that the digital transformation would increase transparency and efficiency in TCB's operations while gradually reducing the government's subsidy burden.

As part of the same initiative, TCB has integrated its card-based service with the "Upokari" mobile app platform, creating an additional secure digital channel, alongside the conventional TCB card, through which a beneficiary's identity and product entitlement can be verified before purchase.

Officials said the arrangement draws on the Upokari platform's Digital Identity, Citizen Wallet and Secure Data Exchange Platform capabilities, with TCB's existing system linked to the Upokari Data Exchange Platform through a secure API.

Once TCB's monthly sales cycle begins, digitally signed and encrypted QR-code-based digital invoices, notices and other necessary information will automatically reach the concerned beneficiary's Upokari app, with purchases and sales completed only through verification of the QR code on that invoice. 

Officials said that if the model succeeds, the same approach could gradually be extended to other approved government and private-sector services.

Several other digital services were also launched at the event, including a digital dealer management system, an online payment collection system, an AI-based real-time monitoring system, an all-in-one point-of-sale system, and an AI-based contact centre.