Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 6
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
Iran plans to increase the amount of cash subsidy for low-income Iranians in the second phase of the plan, the country's vice-president for strategic planning, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, said in a televised interview, the Fars News Agency reported on January 6.
"Distributing the same amount of money among people is not fair. Low-income people should receive more cash," he said. "Giving food packages to low-income people has nothing to do with the cash subsidy payment."
The Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour, and Social Welfare on December 25 confirmed that the country plans to give two food packages to 3.5 million low-income workers, the Mehr News Agency reported.
The first package is likely to be distributed in February and the second one at the end of the year.
The ministry also announced that an additional 12 million low-income Iranians will also receive food packages.
It was announced on November 26 that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, via a televised interview, has ordered the officials to give two packages of food staples to low-income Iranians by the end of the current year (March 20, 2014).
The packages include meat, chicken, rice, and oil.
In the interview, Rouhani presented a report on the first 100 days of his presidency, and said that his first move after becoming president was to provide enough of staples foods for the country's people.
"When I took the office in [the fifth Iranian calendar month of] Mordad, the government's pressing concern was the shortage of food staples, specially wheat," he said.
"My first move was to store enough food staples to meet domestic demands," Rouhani added.
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