Bahrain’s Shura Council has approved the draft budget for 2013-2014, which includes BD210 million ($554 million) to support needy families, a report said.

The payments to families will be backdated to January, costing the government BD105 million this year and next, sources were quoted as saying in the report published by the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper.

The Shura Council’s financial and economic affairs committee will convene today (June 13) for an extraordinary session to discuss the national budget.

The government has also agreed pay rises for pensioners, which will cost BD157.75 million and payments will be backdated to January, the committee said. – TradeArabia News Service