The Bhutanese Leading the way.
31,476 applied for the Kidu
Nu 184 million (mn) has been disbursed till date that includes Nu 176.89 mn for 16,452 applicants and Nu 7.12 mn for child support.
As of May, 10,389 people applied for the Kidu. There were 21,087 who applied in April for the Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu. 31,476 applications have been received till date.
Of the total 31,476 applicants, 22,225 were assessed as being eligible for the relief Kidu. 6,536 applications could not be considered or are under review. 1,135 applications are not assessed.
In terms of those applying for the Kidu, the maximum applicants are from (current address) Thimphu with 12,119 and Samtse tops the dzongkhags with 3,581 applicants. The lowest numbers of applicants are from Gasa, both by current address and permanent address with 53 and 70 applicants respectively.
1,523 applicants are those who have returned from abroad including India. In terms of the educational qualification of the applicants, 110 have master’s degrees, 3,200 are graduates, 7,685 have higher secondary education certificates and 6,357 have a middle secondary education certificates. Of the applicants 16,687 are married, 3,598 are divorced and 9,186 are not married.
998 applicants have withdrawn their applications. An official from the Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu Centre said that the applicants who have withdrawn are either in a better situation now or are more convinced that there are more deserving people or maybe they have secured work or have improved business.
11,023 applicants are from the tourism sector followed by transport and communications with 4,671 applicants. There are 5,298 applicants from other sectors, which include restaurants and food services, personal and recreational.
1,482 applicants come from the professional and consultancy services. There are 951 applicants from the construction sector, 756 from the education and health sector, 306 from the mining sector, 13 from the public and corporate sector and one from electricity sector. There are 2,412 applicants from the wholesale retail background. There were 775 applicants that are categorized as unemployed and unpaid. 155 applicants filed from the agriculture sector and 15 from the finance and real estate sector.
In terms of the age group, the largest category is in the 25-29 age group comprising 26 percent (8,063) of applicants followed by 30-34 age group at 20 percent, 20-24 years at 21 percent (6714), and 70 applicants in the age range of 66-69 years.
And in terms of the gender of the applicants, there are more male applicants. 17,138 men and 14,338 women applied for the Kidu.
The current full amount is Nu 12,000 per month and Nu 8,000 for those on partial payment. Among those not getting the amount now are also issues of incorrect CID numbers and incorrect bank account numbers that have to be reviewed.
For the first round of assessments, employees of affected businesses who have been laid off or put on unpaid leave and reduced pay; self-employed individuals in the tourism sector who have lost their earnings; and Bhutanese workers who have returned from abroad due to the pandemic but have no other source of income are getting the full Nu 12,000.
Self-employed individuals in tourism linked businesses and other businesses affected by social distancing; mandatory closures and curfews have been assessed to get the partial amount of Nu 8,000.
However, if the current situation continues beyond the three months and more people have to be supported then the Nu 12,000 will be reduced to Nu 10,000 for the next three months followed by Nu 8,000 for three months to Nu 6,000 for three months until it can be phased out.
The Kidu program will also provide people with the option to work in certain sectors by taking their information, willingness to work and area of interest, so it can be aligned with the government’s upcoming stimulus programs.
We the Bhutanese citizens are great to fall under the supportive umbrella but in my perception some of the individual are really having tough time without getting kidu LA..