BANGKOK – The government’s state welfare scheme has helped people with an annual income of 100,000 baht or less to have a better quality of life. The scheme that was launched in mid-2019, now has 14.6 million state welfare card holders. The Ministry of Finance is to revise the criteria for the state welfare scheme and open another round of registrations next year.
The Finance Minister, UttamaSavanayana, said recipients of state welfare benefits in the new round of registrations will also need to include the incomes of their family members. The benefits will remain the same, but the scheme will cover health and measures to reduce the cost of living. The aim is to help low-income earners escape from poverty. The issue is expected to be finalized next month.
“In the new round of registrations, they will be taken care of. During the launch, we have to consider the recipients of the state welfare scheme. They are low-income earners. We have to take care of this target group. In the first round, some recipients did not fall into this category. We have to revise the scheme. We have to ask them, and explain to them that we have a certain amount of budget to help those who really need assistance. We have yet to decide on the number of new recipients, but we’re looking into it. We have to discuss the issue with many sides. The same criteria applies,” Minister Uttama said.
Currently, there are 14.6 million state welfare card holders. The Finance Minister said the new round of registrations is not aimed at increasing the number of recipients, but it covers those who didn’t register in the previous round. People with state welfare cards are not required to re-register with the government.
