Bill envisages 500,000 drams for each child’s birth

PanARMENIAN.Net - During a National Assembly session, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Davit Khachatryan presented a legislative proposal that would standardize the birth allowance to 500,000 AMD per child, regardless of birth order. Currently, the state provides 300,000 AMD for the first and second child, 1 million for the third and fourth, and 1.5 million from the fifth onward.

Khachatryan noted that since the current tiered system’s introduction in 2021, births of third or subsequent children have increased by about 45%, from 8,300 in 2018 to over 12,400 in 2023.

The new plan aims to simplify the system and classify the payment as a state benefit, while also requiring Armenian citizenship for eligibility, starting January 1, 2026. The unified 500,000 AMD amount would take effect from September 1, 2026.

In response, opposition MP Tadevos Avetisyan criticized the move, saying it effectively reduces the one-time payment for third and subsequent children from 1 million to 500,000 AMD.

The Deputy Minister responded that the cut is balanced by an ongoing support program that pays 50,000 AMD per month for each child under 6 years old, amounting to 3.6 million over six years, plus the new 500,000 AMD one-time payment, totaling 4.1 million AMD.