Eligibility extension under consideration

Eligibility extension under consideration

A smartphone displays the Pao Tang app with 'Rao Chana' stimulus campaign.
A smartphone displays the Pao Tang app with 'Rao Chana' stimulus campaign.

People registered in the social security system are in the pipeline to be eligible to receive the 7,000-baht money transfer under the Rao Chana (We Win) scheme, says Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.

Some of the 11 million employees, who are covered under Section 33 of the Social Security Act, have seen their salaries cut by employers without receiving any financial relief from the government.

The issue is being deliberated by the Finance Ministry and the ministry is also considering including low-income civil servants to be eligible for the government's financial aid, said Mr Arkhom.

The amount of financial relief for these target groups and eligibility criteria will be deliberated with the Labour Ministry, he said.

Initially, the disbursement process of financial relief will be based on the Social Security Fund information and state-run mobile application, said Mr Arkhom.

A Finance Ministry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the criteria for financial relief disbursement will be benchmarked on the Rao Chana (We Win) scheme.

Under a new financial aid scheme, the government will provide a total of 7,000 baht per person over two months to cover 31 million people affected by the pandemic.

Registration has been scheduled for Jan 29-Feb 12 on www.เราชนะ.com. Two of the criteria used to screen applicants are their annual income and how much they have in their bank accounts.

The scheme does not cover social security subscribers, government officials or state enterprise employees.

Those who are approved won't be paid cash, however -- the scheme uses a model similar to the co-payment subsidy programme known as "Khon La Khrueng", in which the money is transferred via the "Pao Tang" app and used to buy food, drinks and essential items.

As of Saturday, about 7 million people had registered with the government's We Win economic relief scheme, according to the Fiscal Policy Office.

The Bangkok poll, conducted by Bangkok University Research Center, indicated that 72% respondents wanted the help extended to everyone and the registration process made easier.

Polling researchers questioned 1,206 respondents nationwide during Jan 25-27 about their views on the scheme.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT