Aswesuma (Welfare Benefits Payment Scheme)
Aswesuma is Sri Lanka's national welfare benefit payment scheme, launched in 2023 by the government as the successor to the long-running Samurdhi programme. It provides monthly cash transfers to households classified as extremely poor or poor (a 'vulnerable' category was also included at launch but was phased out by June 2026), selected through a data-driven Proxy Means Testing system rather than local political discretion. The program is run by the Welfare Benefits Board under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and is financed by the Government of Sri Lanka with major support from a World Bank-financed Social Safety Nets Project (US$200 million). Payments are made electronically into beneficiaries' bank accounts, reaching well over a million households nationwide.
Sri Lanka, National Program, Proxy Means Testing, Successor to Samurdhi, World Bank Financed, Direct Bank Transfer, Poverty Targeting
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Welfare Benefits Board (Sri Lanka)
- City
- Colombo
- State / Province
- Western Province
- Country
- Sri Lanka
Contact
- Website
- https://wbb.gov.lk/
- Phone
- +94 70 791 1919
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Rolling
- Number of recipients
- 1,400,000
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- Ongoing / unconditional
- Yes
- Distribution Type
- Direct bank deposit
- Benefit details
Monthly cash amounts vary by poverty category and have changed over time: extremely poor households received about LKR 17,500/month (Jan-June 2026), poor households about LKR 10,000/month (raised from LKR 8,500 in January 2025), and the now-discontinued vulnerable category received about LKR 5,000/month (payments ended June 2026). A transitional category received support until payments were discontinued in April 2025. Funds are deposited directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts, and a National Identity Card (NIC) plus active bank account are required to receive payments. Separate, related WBB-administered allowances (for elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and kidney patients) continue outside of core Aswesuma poverty-category payments.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility is determined not by simple income cutoffs but by a Proxy Means Testing (PMT) system using six criteria and 22 indicators (covering housing conditions, assets, education, occupation, and other welfare indicators) collected via household field census/enumeration. Households are scored and ranked into categories (extremely poor, poor, vulnerable/transitional at launch); only extremely poor and poor households remain funded as of mid-2026. This replaced the more discretionary, politically-influenced selection process used under the predecessor Samurdhi programme. Finalized eligibility lists are published at local Grama Niladhari (village officer) offices and on the official WBB portal, with a formal appeals/objections process for households that believe they were wrongly excluded or classified.
Demographics
- Language
- Sinhala, Tamil, English
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen
Geography
- Countries covered
- Sri Lanka
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Application Process
- How to apply
Applications for Aswesuma (including the ongoing Phase II registration/re-enumeration) can be submitted online via the Welfare Benefits Board portal (www.wbb.gov.lk), or in person through local Divisional Secretariat offices or Grama Niladhari (village-level) officers. Forms are available in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, and applicants must provide their National Identity Card (NIC) number. Households not currently listed can apply for inclusion, and those on published eligibility lists can file objections or appeals through their Grama Niladhari office or the WBB portal.
- Selection process
Selection is data-driven rather than discretionary: field enumerators conduct a household census/survey capturing six criteria across 22 poverty indicators, feeding a Proxy Means Testing (PMT) score used by the Welfare Benefits Board to classify households as extremely poor, poor, vulnerable, or non-poor/ineligible. Finalized name lists are published at Grama Niladhari offices and on the official WBB online portal, with a structured appeals/objections window for households to contest omission or misclassification.
