Aswesuma support will now be limited to poor and extremely poor families as 740,000 beneficiaries lose payments under IMF-linked welfare reforms.
Aswesuma support will now be provided only to families classified as extremely poor and poor, following a decision taken by the Welfare Benefits Board.
The data updating process required to implement the second phase of the welfare assistance program is currently underway. The subsidy scheme was first introduced in 2023.
In its first year, the allowance was provided to nearly 1.6 million families under four separate categories. However, following later revisions, a number of beneficiaries were removed from the program at several stages.
Payments to 315,000 beneficiaries in the fourth category were suspended from April 2025.
Allowances given to 425,000 families belonging to the third category have been discontinued from June this year.
Assistant Commissioner of the Welfare Benefits Board, Ashan Darshaka, said that among the families in these two categories who lost the subsidy, those who are genuinely poor or extremely poor would still be eligible to receive the benefit again.
The changes to the welfare subsidy program, especially Aswesuma, and the removal of support for certain categories are directly influenced by agreements reached with the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF condition is that the government should not distribute its limited funds to everyone, but should systematically provide assistance only to those who are truly helpless.
