Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Dr. Upali Pannilage told Parliament yesterday according to recent data from the Sri Lankan Welfare Benefits Board (WBB), over 1.6 million families have been identified as living in poverty in Sri Lanka and the Government has allocated Rs. 25 billion under the 2026 Budget for the Praja Shakthi National Programme, a multi-dimensional community empowerment initiative aiming to eradicate poverty.