Thailand adjusts 2021 budgets to ease financial burden caused by COVID-19

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Cabinet on April 15 approved cutting 50 percent of investment and 25 percent of regular budgets in fiscal 2021 to mobilise funding to ease the financial burden arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said that all state agencies are required to revise their fiscal budgets in line with cabinet approval and resubmit them to the Budget Bureau on April 22.

Cuts should not be made to binding items and suggested funds for seminars, training programmes, public relations, allowances, lodging, vehicles and necessary overseas trips, she said.

On January 7, the Thai cabinet approved a fiscal 2021 budget of 3.3 trillion baht (100.9 billion USD) with a deficit of 523 billion baht. The budget for fiscal 2021 is 100 billion baht, 3.1 percent bigger than the fiscal 2020 blueprint, and it will focus mainly on social and economic restructuring, economic growth stability, income redistribution to remote areas, local economy development and income disparity reduction.

The Government has established a new committee tasked with handling relief measures for people affected by the pandemic by the order of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issued on April 14.

The committee will also supervise and evaluate the government's existing relief measures to cope with the pandemic's impact./.