People and Government

The government will borrow 1.5 trillion baht next year to counter the economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic amid dwindling state revenue.A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday approved borrowing of 1.47 trillion baht in the fiscal year starting Oct 1, ...

A majority of people say the country should unite to brainstorm ideas to resolve longstanding conflicts, according to a survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.The poll was conducted online on Sept 23-25 on 1,263 people throughout the country to gauge ...

Advocacy groups and gender equality academics are drafting a LGBTIQN+ Wellbeing Strategy Plan, the country’s first master plan to deal with discrimination against gender identities that fall outside the traditional binary of masculine and feminine.“They [LGBTIQN+ people] are constantly discriminated against and bullied in our ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is amending the Securities and Exchange Act to allow SEC officials to become investigating officers in legal cases involving the Securities and Exchange Act and Future Exchange Act, said SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol.“Currently, SEC officials have no investigating authority ...

The 2021 government budget has been cut by about 14 billion baht. However, more has been allocated to education, public health, interior and justice agencies.Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat, the chairman of an ad-hoc committee reviewing the draft of the 2021 budget appropriation bill, said ...

The cabinet has approved a bill to amend the 1979 Traffic Act that will allow doctors to test unconscious motorists or passengers in a vehicle for alcohol consumption, says deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek.The bill, sponsored by the Royal Thai Police, will authorise investigators to ...

Disbursement of fiscal 2021 budget is expected to be deferred by only a month and will not affect public investment, says finance permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat.Deferment of the law on fiscal 2021 budget from Oct 1 will have no impact on public investment, Mr Prasong ...

The Student Loan Fund (SLF) plans to increase its loan budget for academic year 2020 from Bt34 billion to Bt37 billion to help students and parents during the Covid-19 situation, and expects up to 650,000 borrowers.“The SLF has also adjusted the eligibility of borrowers from ...

The Department of Local Administration (DLA) on Friday allayed concerns about delays in making living allowance payments for elderly and disabled people, saying it managed to move funds from other schemes to make payments.DLA director-general Prayoon Rattanasenee insisted the problem had been addressed and the ...

Social security scheme members who are more than 50 years old will be eligible for free influenza vaccine with effect from October 15.“Persons under the social security scheme aged over 50 years will be eligible to receive influenza vaccines free of charge once a year ...