The Finance Ministry has continued to maintain its targeted fiscal policy, including the provision of financial aid directly to specific groups, helping the country save on budget spending, says Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) director-general Pornchai Thiraveja.
He said following the pandemic the government had a constrained budget. An approach focusing on targeted fiscal spending enabled the government to extend financial assistance to specific groups in a timely manner, resulting in effective spending with a limited budget, said Mr Pornchai.
During 2020-21, the government issued two emergency loan decrees to borrow 1.5 trillion baht in total, aiming to mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic on the country's economy.
He said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank supported the government's use of targeted fiscal measures.
The use of targeted measures can ensure benefits do not reach those who are not entitled to receive them, said Mr Pornchai.
The government utilises information technology to enable it to keep up-to-date information about recipients entitled to receive state benefits, he said.
The government's welfare card scheme uses a targeted fiscal approach. Screening reduced the number of qualified applicants to 15 million, resulting in government budget savings, said Mr Pornchai.
A ministry source who requested anonymity said the welfare card scheme is expected to require a budget of 65.4 billion baht this year.
The government also applied a targeted approach to a project offering allowances to people older 60. Around 10-11 million people registered for the scheme. The government set a budget of 87 billion baht in fiscal 2023 to fund the scheme, up from 83.9 billion the previous year.
