Supply Ministry adds 2 mn newborns to subsidy rolls

The Supply Ministry has added some 2 mn newborns to its subsidy rolls under 1.2 mn ration cards between August and the end of September, ministry spokesman Ahmed Kamal said. Kamal did not disclose how much the ministry expects to spend on the new beneficiaries, or how the government plans to finance the additional subsidies. The government had issued new regulations last year to govern new entrants to subsidy rolls, which cap the number of family members per card at four and introduce a EGP 1,500 monthly income threshold for eligibility for full-time workers, as well as a EGP 1,200 monthly threshold for pension earners.