Outside a restaurant in Thailand on April 15 (Source: AFP/VNA)Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Cabinet on April 15 approved cutting 50percent of investment and 25 percent of regular budgets in fiscal 2021 tomobilise funding to ease the financial burden arising from the COVID-19pandemic.
The governmentspokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said that all state agencies are required torevise their fiscal budgets in line with cabinet approval and resubmit them tothe Budget Bureau on April 22.
Cuts should not bemade 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 Thaicabinet approved a fiscal 2021 budget of 3.3 trillion baht (100.9 billion USD) witha 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 growthstability, income redistribution to remote areas, local economy development andincome disparity reduction.
The Government hasestablished a new committee tasked with handling relief measures for peopleaffected by the pandemic by the order of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-chaissued on April 14.
The committee willalso supervise and evaluate the government's existing relief measures to copewith the pandemic's impact./.
VNA
