Minister Suksomruay chaired the Village Fund board meeting, approving a budget of 1 billion baht for the “SML Plus” project and injecting over 743 million baht through three consecutive rounds of the “Thai Helps Thai” initiative, supporting the grassroots economy and delivering benefits directly to the people of Thailand.
On 29 August 2026, Mrs. Suksomruay Wantaneeyakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office and chairperson of the National Village and Urban Community Fund board, spoke about the 7/2569 meeting of the board. The meeting aimed to advance two key resolutions to strengthen village funds nationwide. It approved an additional 5,461 SML Plus projects with a combined budget of 1,009,600,000 baht, as proposed by the SML Plus subcommittee. These projects cover all regions across the country. She also instructed the National Village and Urban Community Fund Office to expedite the review of applications to ensure funds reach local areas and citizens as quickly as possible by September.
Additionally, the board approved the allocation of 460 million baht for the third round of the “Thai Helps Thai: Capital Increase, Half-Interest” project. This aims to reduce interest burdens, increase liquidity, and strengthen the financial stability of village funds nationwide.
So far, across all three rounds of the “Thai Helps Thai” project, 9,571 village funds have benefited, with a total accumulated budget of 743,870,000 baht. This continuity reflects Minister Suksomruay's policy push to reduce financial costs and improve liquidity, enabling village fund members to have more working capital for their livelihoods.
Minister Suksomruay urged the meeting to accelerate budget disbursement to meet targets, ensuring government spending is efficient and that funds genuinely reach grassroots communities.