BANGKOK, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 7 million people, officially categorized as "impoverished," are receiving a sum of giveaway cash from government banks throughout Thailand.

Under condition set by the Ministry of Finance, those who may earn no more than 30,000 baht (about 857 U.S. dollars) per year are entitled to 3,000 baht (about 85.7 U.S. dollars) and those who may earn more than 30,000 baht but less than 100,000 baht (about 2,857 U.S. dollars) per year are entitled to 1,500 baht (about 42.8 U.S. dollars) in giveaway cash.

According to an official of the ministry, about 8.27 million Thais had earlier filed for the government's grant nationwide.

However, 6.98 million of those people were certified by the authorities as eligible to the giveaway cash, the official said.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha earlier commented that the government's grant was not a populist campaign and that it was merely meant to help stimulate the country's grassroots economy.

Beginning on Saturday until the end of this month, the eligible poor can get money from the government banks - the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, the Government Savings Bank and Krung Thai Bank. The money is available via ATMs throughout the country.