Starting from April 1, 2024, Uzbekistan will provide a one-time childbirth benefit (known as "suyunchi puli") to all women only upon the birth of their first child. This decision comes from a government resolution dated March 4. For the birth of a second child, the benefit will only be given to those registered in the Unified Registry of Social Protection. No benefits will be provided for a third child or beyond.
Currently, the state allocates benefits for each child's birth at 70.3% of the minimum wage or 738.15 thousand sum. The timeframe for applying for the benefit has also been reduced. Now, one of the parents must apply at a People's Bank branch within one month (previously six months).
The National Agency for Social Protection under the President's budget has earmarked 382.4 billion sum for "suyunchi puli" payments. There is no information available online regarding expenditure from previous years.
It's worth noting that the state budget deficit for the first two months of this year reached 13 trillion sum (7.2 trillion sum in February). The budget for 2024 was approved with a deficit of 10.3 trillion sum. The consolidated budget deficit is capped at 52.6 trillion sum or 4% of GDP, but in recent years, the government has not managed to stay within these limits.
In 2023, Uzbekistan delayed updating the minimum consumer spending levels (poverty line) for six months, which are used to determine benefits. This led to hundreds of thousands of people in need of social assistance not receiving the 420 thousand sum entitled to them.
