By Thai Newsroom Reporters
A SUM OF 10,000 BAHT in grant for each farmer will be provided in full and non-deductible to debt which they may owe to the Bank for Agriculture & Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), confirmed Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat today (Sep. 25).
Under the Pheu Thai-initiated populist handout campaign, those farmers who may be attached to the “fragile” groups of people totalling about 14.5 million nationwide, will receive the 10,000-baht grant in full and without any deduction by the government-run bank to which they may currently have unsettled loans as otherwise feared, according to the deputy finance minister.
Julapun made his comment in the wake of the granting of the money, beginning today, to three million-plus “fragile” recipients including farmers and impoverished people via their state welfare cards.
The deputy finance minister said the cash handout to the “fragile” category of people will quickly stimulate domestic consumption, strengthen the goods manufacturing sector and roughly contribute 0.35% to the country’s GDP.
However, a second phase of the 10,000-baht grant, primarily designed via digital wallets, for another 30 million-plus people will be unlikely to be implemented anytime within this year’s fourth quarter despite the government’s budget for next fiscal year being available as of next month, he said.
The delayed populist handout campaign was invariably viewed as a Pheu Thai flagship policy propagated during the largest ruling party’s electoral campaign last year.
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Top and Front Page: Fragile category of people getting their 10,000 baht handout today, Sep. 25, 2024. Photos: Naewna
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