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The Government Allocates A Budget Of Rp 51.53 Trillion For Free Nutritious Meals In 2025

The government is set to launch a free nutritious meal program (MBG) at the beginning of January. Specifically, in 2025, an allocation of IDR 51.53 trillion will be provided to support this initiative.

This information was revealed by the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency, Rachmat Pambudy, during the CORE Economic Outlook 2025 event on Saturday, November 23. The budget of IDR 51.53 trillion for 2025 is aimed at benefiting 17 million individuals.

The implementation of the free nutritious meal program in 2025 will occur in three phases. From January to March, the government will allocate IDR 3.48 trillion to support 2.95 million students and santri, as well as 510,000 breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and toddlers.

In the subsequent period from April to June, an allocation of IDR 6.69 trillion will be directed towards 6 million students and santri, along with 1.08 million breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and toddlers.

Finally, from July to December, the government will allocate IDR 41.34 trillion for 15 million students and santri, in addition to 2.89 million breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and toddlers.

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas estimates that the MBG program will contribute to a 0.03% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within a year.

Previously, Bhima Yudhistira, Executive Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), projected that if the MBG program continues to progress towards a 100% target by 2029, the state budget deficit is expected to reach 3.34% of GDP by that year. This figure exceeds the safe threshold established by law, assuming an economic growth rate of 5%.

"Even under an optimistic economic growth assumption of 7%, the budget deficit is still predicted to surpass the constitutional limit of 3.1%," stated Bhima.

Tag: Bappenas CORE Economic Outlook 2025 MBG