The government on Friday began paying a 400-baht monthly welfare benefit for newborn babies, with 22.6 million baht being handed out to low-income families of 56,400 eligible infants across the country.
Manat Jaemweha, director-general of the Comptroller General’s Department, said the the 400-baht monthly benefit was transferred into a bank account for each eligible infant via the national e-payment service.
In the first round of payments, 22.6 million baht was paid to a total of 56,400 children on Friday, Mr Manat said. The department would pay another 7.2 million baht to the remaining 18,000 eligible young children later this month.
From October, the monthly child benefit will be increased to 600 baht. Eligible children will receive the monthly payments until they reach the age of 3. Children born to poor families are entitled to the state subsidy.