Paradorn upbeat as 22 million join subsidy scheme on day one

PM's Office Minister Paradorn Prissananantakul was all smiles today after learning that 22 million out of the 30 million eligible Thai citizens had applied on the first day of registration for the 4,000-baht subsidy under the “Thai Chuay Thai Plus” scheme.

He said the registration process was easy and quick for people who had previously registered under the 50:50 co-payment scheme. New applicants, however, may have to wait up to three days for background checks and SMS confirmation notifications.

Paradorn disclosed that within just 25 minutes after registration opened at 6am today, about 10 million people had successfully signed up.

Registration will remain open until Friday, while spending under the scheme will begin on June 1.

Regarding the 13 million state welfare card holders, who will each receive an additional monthly subsidy of 700 baht for four months on top of the existing 300-baht monthly allowance, Paradorn said there had been complaints that some recipients were not genuinely poor. He added that the issue should be reviewed to determine whether they truly qualify for assistance.