Assistance measures for recipients of this year's welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor will go to the cabinet for approval within the next few weeks, says Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong.
Some 11.6 million of the 14.1 million registrants for government aid in this year's registration round are expected to meet the scheme's specifications, Mr Apisak said.
The cabinet recently approved a budget of 46 billion baht to be spent on state aid measures for the poor.
Criteria for the scheme this year require applicants to be unemployed or to have had an income of 100,000 baht or less last year to receive aid under the programme.
Applicants' savings, savings certificates and bond holdings must be worth less than 100,000 baht combined.
If applicants own property, the area must not exceed 35 square metres for a condo unit, 25 square wah for a townhouse or 10 rai of land for agricultural purposes. Applicants must be Thai nationals aged 18 and over.
The number of registrants for this year's scheme stands at about 14.1 million, up from 8.27 million in 2016.
According to the government's plan, the scheme's recipients will receive smart cards which will contain their personal information and state assistance such as subsidised transport, utility bills, staple goods to be bought at the Commerce Ministry's Blue Flag shops, student uniforms, stationery and fertiliser will be given through the cards.
Moreover, the scheme's recipients earning below 30,000 baht a year will receive money to help them meet basic needs and cross the poverty line.
The smart card will be distributed to recipients from Sept 21, and state aid will be given from Oct 1.
Meanwhile, Krisada Chinavicharana, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, said that close to 8 million of the 11.6 million recipients live below the poverty line, which stands at 30,000 baht per annum.
From 1988 to 2015, the income of Thais surged nine times, while the number of those earning below the poverty line fell seven times.
But wealth remained concentrated, with land held by the country's wealthiest 10% reaching 878 times that owned by the poorest at 10%.
The number of urban people with access to the education system was twice that of people in rural areas.
