Thai government's populist programmes to continue

BANGKOK, August 25 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says that her government will carry on its populist programmes to help raise quality of life of Thai people. When presiding over the opening of a two-day event held at the Rajamangala National Stadium to showcase the government’s schemes, organized after the Pheu Thai Party-led government has ruled the country for one year, Yingluck insisted that her government is determined to solve the poverty problem in the country by launching several programmes. They include the increase in daily minimum wage to 300 baht, the raise of monthly salary for newly-graduated civil servants holding bachelor’s degree to 15,000 baht, a tax reduction for first-time house buyers, an access for low-income households to financial sources and the establishment of funds for 11 projects aimed at assisting the poor. According to the Thai premier, her government’s programmes will boost people’s income and security of the country to cater for the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 and impacts from the volatility of the global economy, as well as for further boosting national competitiveness. (TNA)