Cabinet reviews national subsistence levels and herder support programs

During Cabinet's weekly Wednesday meeting, Cabinet Secretariat J.Munkhbat presented Cabinet members with 2017 subsistence levels approved by the National Statistics Office.

The minimum subsistence level in the western provinces in 2017 has been set at 166,500 MNT, 173,500 MNT in the west central provinces, 166,200 MNT in the east central provinces, 165,700 MNT in the eastern provinces, and 185,300 MNT in Ulaanbaatar.

Minimum subsistence levels are used to determine policy for the provision of welfare and other financial assistance from the state.

During the meeting, the cabinet's ministers agreed to provide provinces that have been facing particularly challenging winter conditions with 5,000 tons of hay and to make another 5,218 tons of fodder available for purchase with a 50 percent discount. In addition to providing support for livestock, they agreed on providing herders with other winter essentials, such as warm clothes.

The Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Finance to allocate 1.7 billion MNT from the government's reserve fund for spending on national disaster management, including purchasing vehicles, building facilities, and measures for disaster risk prevention, reduction, and response.

During the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Energy P.Gankhuu was assigned with negotiating with Russia’s Energy Ministry to establish an agreement on partnership between the two governments in the energy sector.