February 09, Colombo (LNW): Starting tomorrow, February 10, the ‘Aswesuma’ welfare benefits program is inviting new applications to select an additional 400,000 beneficiaries, according to the Finance State Ministry. The selection criteria for beneficiaries will undergo revisions based on suggestions from various parties.
In a notable move, the monthly allowances for disabled persons, kidney patients, and elderly citizens are set to be retrospectively increased from January 2024. Kidney patients and disabled persons will see their allowances rise from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,500, while the allowance for elderly citizens will increase from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000.
State Minister Shehan Semasinghe announced on Thursday (Feb. 08) that ‘Aswesuma’ beneficiaries entitled to these allowances will be identified in the first quarter of 2024, with the increased payments starting from April 01.
Furthermore, payments for the ‘vulnerable’ and ‘transitional’ social groups will continue until December 31. The existing ‘vulnerable’ and ‘transitional’ social groups are planned to be merged in the future, covering a total of 800,000 families who will receive an allowance of Rs. 5,000. The ‘transitional’ social group, currently receiving Rs. 2,500, will also be included in this consolidation.
The current count of ‘Aswesuma’ beneficiaries surpasses 1.7 million, with the government aiming to extend these benefits to a total of 2 million people.
