The Finance Ministry plans to distribute welfare cards to 1.1 million more people who missed the previous registration of the poor, and they include people with disabilities and bedridden patients.
Deputy permanent secretary Narin Kalayanamit said on Thursday the cards would cover people with disabilities and bedridden patients who had found it difficult to register, as well as poor people who had not applied in the past for welfare cards.
Interior Ministry surveys found that 91,000 people with disabilities and 21,000 bedridden patients had not registered for welfare cards. Ministry officials would check to confirm if they were qualified for the assistance.
Earlier 11.4 million people qualified for the cards and 11.1 million people received them. Welfare cards were introduced last October. As of June, 31 billion baht had been distributed in total to card holders. The cards provided subsidies for consumer products at approved outlets, fares and cooking gas.
The government also organised vocational training for welfare card holders. About 4.1 million of them registered for the training -- 2.2 million farmers and 1.9 million non-farmers.
To qualify, an applicant must be a Thai citizen aged at least 18, be jobless or earning no more than 100,000 baht a year, have financial assets not exceeding 100,000 baht, own a house of no more than 100 square metres or flat of no more than 35 square metres.