The proposed new beneficiary selection methodology for the Aswesuma Welfare Program will assess a range of socio-economic vulnerability indicators, including household employment and livelihood security, family composition, ageing, disability, chronic illnesses, access to housing and essential services, and household indebtedness.

The Parliamentary Committee on Ways and Means reviewed the progress of the ongoing process to revise the existing beneficiary selection criteria for the Aswesuma Program.The matter was discussed when the Committee met in Parliament recently under the chairmanship of Wijesiri Basnayake.The Committee had previously instructed relevant authorities to review the existing beneficiary selection criteria to identify and address shortcomings in the current selection process.

Accordingly, officials of the Welfare Benefits Board briefed the Committee on a pilot study related to the new beneficiary selection methodology recommended by the expert committee appointed for the purpose.Officials informed the Committee that the proposed methodology aims to replace the existing selection criteria with a new framework based on socio-economic vulnerability.

They further stated that a pilot study will be conducted in several selected districts to assess the effectiveness of the proposed methodology before its wider implementation.Following discussions on the proposed framework, the Committee granted approval for the implementation of the pilot study.