The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera - Deputy Minister of Economic Development

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I respond on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies.

¶ 02 1. No. 2. Web release target date: 30 October 2026; Printed publication target date: 30 December 2026. 3. On 22 December 2025, the Committee on Standing Orders and Rules directed that an expert committee be appointed to review the indicators/criteria used to select Aswesuma beneficiaries. Accordingly, the Welfare Benefits Board appointed the expert committee in December 2025. The committee has reviewed the current criteria and prepared a draft. After field testing, the final draft will be submitted for Cabinet approval and then to Parliament. 4. There is no classification as Elderly, Disabled and Kidney Patients within Aswesuma itself. Total active beneficiaries are as follows: - Disabled allowance beneficiaries: 171,957 - Chronic Kidney Disease allowance beneficiaries: 53,037

¶ 03 District-wise details are provided in Annex 01, which I place in the Library.

¶ 04 In addition, through the Postal Department, 240,201 beneficiaries receive elderly and centenarian allowances. Details are provided in Annex 02, which I place in the Library.

¶ 05 Annex 02 (summary): Elderly and centenarian allowances scheduled for March 2026 total 240,201 beneficiaries nationwide, with a total outlay of Rs. 1,201,005,000 (at Rs. 5,000 each). District-wise figures are enumerated in the annex.

¶ 06 5. Appeals: 63,964; Objections: 6,295. A total of 57,770 are pending Welfare Benefits Board approval. Outcomes by district and category are in Annex 03, which I place in the Library.

¶ 07 Annex 03 (summary): Phase 2 Release 1 — Appeal Committee decisions show 56,054 objections resolved as of 16.03.2026, with 49,760 (88.8%) accepted. District-wise percentages are listed in the annex.

¶ 08 6. As per Cabinet Memorandum MF/NB/09/CM/2026/121 dated 06.04.2026, paragraph 3.1, for April the following top-ups will be paid under Aswesuma: - Extreme poor: additional Rs. 7,500 (on top of the current Rs. 17,500) - Poor: additional Rs. 5,000 (on top of the current Rs. 10,000) - Vulnerable: additional Rs. 2,500 (on top of the current Rs. 5,000)

¶ 09 Further, relief has been provided to the fisheries community for fuel, and concessions on diesel and petrol are in place. The Government bears the additional cost to stabilize urea fertilizer prices and has increased fertilizer support for paddy and other crops. For electricity, the Government bears the burden for consumers using under 90 units. Altogether, the Government has allocated an additional Rs. 100 billion for these measures.

¶ 10 Regarding inclusion gaps, the Government recognizes that some eligible persons remain outside Aswesuma. A recertification was conducted from December last year through 31 March, accepting applications; assessments will be finalized by 30 June, adding eligible households. As noted, an expert panel is revising the criteria to create a clearer, simpler method to correctly identify beneficiaries; this will be submitted to Parliament and implemented.