Ekniti clarifies the poverty card screening emphasizes genuinely helping the poor, adding 2.3 million previously unregistered individuals, extending appeal and review periods, revealing misuse of villagers’ identities to register companies and hold shares, and ordering prosecutions.
At 10:05 a.m. on 21 July 2026, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, spoke before the cabinet meeting about the screening of State Welfare Card (poverty card) recipients. He thanked all parties and stressed that the purpose of the State Welfare Card program is to truly help those in need. Over the past 4-5 years, no new entrants were accepted, so this time the government has included 2.3 million low-income people who were previously overlooked and not in the system, which is a key part of the effort.
Ekniti said another key point is assisting the truly poor. There had been many complaints about “fake poor” individuals falsely claiming State Welfare Card rights. Therefore, various screening criteria were established to exclude ineligible people from the system. So far, some fake poor have been screened out.
However, he acknowledged that some groups of citizens have been affected and may have been excluded from the system. The government listens and sympathizes with those genuinely suffering and has coordinated with the Ministry of Interior to set up One Stop Service centers to help review rights for those truly affected and in distress.
Ekniti said that this process revealed Thailand still lacks a modern database system. Therefore, criteria will be reviewed according to public requests, such as rules regarding old vehicles. He has already discussed this with the Deputy Minister of Transport and will bring the issue for criteria revision.
Additionally, there have been problems with misuse of villagers’ information without their knowledge, including registering companies, buying shares on the stock market, and appointing them as company directors to obtain tax deductions. This issue became evident during the current investigations. He has issued a policy that after helping those truly in need, action will be taken against those who deceive villagers and cause public harm.
Ekniti said the important thing now is that the government sympathizes with those truly affected and will extend the appeal period to allow further rights reviews. He emphasized that the State Welfare Card is just one tool to help people, as the government has many other welfare programs for those in hardship. The card’s goal is to assist those most vulnerable and neglected. This screening has already brought 2.3 million overlooked individuals into the system.
Ekniti added that those eligible for other welfare programs will continue to receive their benefits, including elderly allowances, disability rights, and free education. Currently, there are 72 state welfare programs, and people receive benefits based on each program’s eligibility. The State Welfare Card aims to help the most disadvantaged in society. He confirmed the government welcomes feedback from all parties and will submit proposals to the committee to review criteria and extend the appeal period.