CAIRO, Feb 26 (MENA) - Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk said the value of social protection programs will increase from EGP 35 billion to 40 billion between March and the end of June, targeting the most vulnerable groups

The minister made the remarks during a news conference held by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli following the cabinet's weekly meeting on Wednesday.

Reviewing the details of a government social protection package, scheduled to be rolled out early next month, the minister revealed that as of April 1, the 'Takaful and Karama' pensions will be increased by 25 per cent on a permanent basis.

He noted that the pension, provided under the cash transfer program, had not seen any increase for some time.

As for the subsidy system, the minister said nearly 10 million ration cards, will offer more benefits after refining beneficiaries' data starting from next month.

Thanks to these measures, each single card-holder will receive an additional EGP 125, while each family will receive about EGP 250, the minister explained.

He added that as of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, expected to start early next month, the 'Takaful and Karama' program will provide cash benefits to 5.2 million families, EGP 300 for each family. (MENA)

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