Thailand Adjusts Welfare Card Criteria, Excludes Agricultural Debt
Thailand's welfare card program expands eligibility to 5.4 million more vulnerable people while excluding agricultural debt from credit limits, effective 2024.
The Finance Ministry announced on July 6, 2024, through Winit Wisetsuwannaphoomi, director of the Office of Fiscal Economics, that the Public Welfare Committee for Grassroots Economy and Society held its eighth meeting of 2024. The committee approved results from the state welfare card registration program for 2024, including expansion of target groups. An additional 5,383,393 vulnerable individuals without existing welfare cards, identified during the Interior Ministry's field registration between June 4-21, 2024, will now enter the eligibility verification process.
For the 2024 program screening, income earners who claim parental care deductions will no longer be automatically disqualified from welfare benefits. The Ministry also incorporated recommendations from the Bank of Thailand regarding the 100,000-baht total credit limit criteria, now excluding agricultural credit. Agricultural lending differs from standard credit as it operates seasonally and sometimes provides disaster relief, making it an unreliable indicator of financial capacity or asset status.
The Finance Ministry is considering allowing current welfare card holders who fail to qualify for the 2024 program to access the Thailand Helping Thais Plus (60/40) initiative for two months (August 1 - September 30, 2024), since they were ineligible during the previous registration period. The Cabinet will review these revisions before the official results announcement scheduled for July 17, 2024.