THE MARSHALL PLAN 354. The Marshall Plan Social Contract (MPSC) was introduced in December 2016 to enable eligible Social Register of Mauritius (SRM) beneficiaries living in absolute poverty to benefit from the various empowerment schemes and income support on a conditional basis. This ranges from cash transfers pertaining to education, training and employment, health, family welfare and development. Table 37: SRM households and beneficiaries as at May 2019 FEMALE MALE TOTAL Number of SRM Households 4,174 6,103 10,277 Number of Beneficiaries 21,910 18,860 40,770 Source: Ministry of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment 355. The social contract essentially represents a formal pledge between Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment and SRM beneficiaries whereby both parties acknowledge their rights and duties in the endeavour to fight poverty. The crux of the social contract lies in the transition from the mere act of distributing social assistance, to cash transfers which are subject to compliance with specified requirements in order to achieve the objective of concretely and sustainably empowering the poor people. SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE 356. The monthly subsistence allowance is based on income thresholds ranging between Rs 2,720 and of Rs 9,520 to families composed of up to two adults and three children. The objective of the subsistence allowance is to ensure that the basic needs of people living in absolute poverty are met and ultimately they are enabled to move out of the poverty trap. For the financial year 2017/2018, a total amount of Rs 213,612,857 was disbursed under the Subsistence Allowance Scheme and Rs 238,685,158 for 2018/2019. 357. There are 8,190 SRM eligible households in Mauritius and 2,087 in Rodrigues which are benefitting from the monthly subsistence allowance. These SRM beneficiaries are also offered other conditional cash transfers, based on the needs of the household. 131