Cabinet approves budget for handouts to underprivileged, disabled
Spending of 145.552 billion baht for handing out 10,000 baht each to disabled and underprivileged approved by Cabinet
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the spending of 145.552 billion baht for handing out 10,000 baht to the disabled and the underprivileged holding state welfare cards.
Speaking to reporters at 11.45am after her first weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the Cabinet approved the programme to hand out 10,000 baht to 14.55 million vulnerable people under a budget of 145.552 billion baht.
She said the Comptroller General’s Department will start remitting 10,000 baht to the 14.55 million recipients from September 25.
“The payment of 10,000 baht for this lot has been agreed upon in accordance with the law by the Office of the Council of State, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council and the Bank of Thailand,” Paetongtarn said.
The recipients of the economic stimulus programme are divided into two groups:
- 12.40 million state welfare card holders
- 2.15 million registered disabled
For most of the 12.40 million state welfare card holders, the Comptroller General’s Department would start wiring 10,000 baht to the bank accounts of beneficiaries with the PromptPay system according to their identification card numbers from September 25 onward.
For bedridden and elderly welfare card holders who do not have accounts tied with the PromptPay system, the department will wire benefits to their saving accounts according to their letters submitted earlier to the provincial offices of the Comptroller General’s Department.
The 124.059 billion baht for paying these welfare card benefits would come from 122 billion baht of the additional budget of fiscal 2024 and 2.059 billion of the 2024 central emergency fund.
For the 2.15 million disabled people, the department would start paying them 10,000 baht on September 25 as well by remitting to bank accounts as informed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pattaya City.
The remaining registered disabled would get the money through the PromptPay system tied to their ID cards as informed by the local administrations nationwide.
Paetongtarn said the government would spend 21.493 billion baht for payment to the disabled from the central emergency fund.
She added that the programme would inject 145.552 billion baht into the economy and boost growth by 0.35% this year.
