The selection process for beneficiaries under a new round of the Aswesuma welfare benefit scheme has now been completed, Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Upali Pannilage said.

He said the new beneficiary list is expected to be displayed within the next few weeks, providing an opportunity for anyone to submit an appeal.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando recently told Parliament that a re-survey of Aswesuma beneficiaries had been conducted.

He said applications received during the first and second phases were being verified, adding that the process was expected to be completed within this month.

According to official figures, there were 1,773,445 Aswesuma beneficiaries in 2023, while the number stood at 1,761,116 in 2024.

The number of beneficiaries increased to 2,439,917 in 2025 but had declined to 1,251,522 by this year.

Aswesuma benefits had previously been provided under four categories: extremely poor, poor, vulnerable and transitional.

Payments to beneficiaries in the transitional category ended in December last year, while payments to the vulnerable category ended in June this year.

Accordingly, the government has continued Aswesuma payments only for the extremely poor and poor categories, while a re-survey of beneficiaries was also launched during this period.