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QR code to identify financially needy

06 Sep 2022

  • Welfare Benefit Board to implement system
The Welfare Benefit Board (WBB) under the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies is to introduce a quick response (QR) code-based system to identify those who are in need of actual financial assistance given the prevailing economic crisis in the country. Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo yesterday (5), WBB Chairman B. Wijayaratne said that the WBB has commenced a programme to identify those who are eligible to receive the welfare benefits provided by the WBB for 2022. Under this programme, he said that special attention would be paid to identifying those in need of actual financial assistance given the prevailing economic crisis. Accordingly, he said that a QR code-based system would be introduced for the identification of such persons, including the recipients of the Samurdhi, elders’ and physical disability allowances.  “This programme is to be implemented with the intervention of the Department of Samurdhi, the Department of Social Services, the National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, and the National Secretariat for Elders and, it is estimated that nearly 3.9 million families would apply for this programme. Most of the District and Divisional Secretariats have already been informed of this programme,” he added. Meanwhile, the interim Budget 2022, which was presented to Parliament last week, focused on providing subsidies to vulnerable communities under the prevailing situation. The Government has already spent an additional amount of about Rs. 31,000 million from May to July 2022, to provide an additional monthly allowance as urgent assistance to those who have been affected due to the loss of employment, the decline in agricultural output, and the inability to cultivate due to many reasons. This programme is to continue for four months in order to reduce the pressure of the economic crisis on the affected people. It has also been decided to provide an additional monthly allowance of Rs. 2,500 for pregnant women in addition to the sum of Rs. 20,000 which is already being provided for them.  Considering a revelation that there are about 61,000 food insecure families in need of urgent assistance, it has been proposed to provide a sum of Rs. 10,000 per such family for a period of another four months.


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