Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Finance Juda Agung said that the elimination of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program on Saturdays could save around Rp1 trillion in one day. Juda stated that this step is part of the government's budget restructuring to ensure that the implementation of priority programs continues to run more efficiently and with higher quality.
"For example, the MBG program, which used to provide free lunch on Saturdays, is now eliminated. This savings amounts to one trillion per day," said Juda during the Policy Dialogue session at the Kick Off of the Acceleration of Indonesia's Intermediation (PINISI) event in Jakarta on Monday, April 27, 2026, as quoted by Antara.
He explained that the policy is considered more logical because students do not need to come to school just to receive food. According to him, the savings can reach around Rp4 trillion in a month if calculated for four weeks.
"Four times a month, we can save around Rp 4 trillion. In one year, of course, we can save around Rp50 trillion," he said.
Aside from Saturdays, the government also eliminates the distribution of MBG during school holiday periods as part of program restructuring. Juda emphasized that the government will continue to implement priority programs, but with more targeted and higher quality approaches.
"This is a restructuring or refinement. We continue to carry out existing priority programs with higher quality and more focused," he said.
He added that the government is also evaluating the nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPG) that do not meet nutrition standards. According to him, the government will take firm action by temporarily stopping the operations of SPPG that do not meet these standards.
Juda said that the budget restructuring is carried out to ensure that the State Budget deficit remains controlled amid global oil price pressures.
He added that the government is holding back the increase in subsidized fuel prices to protect the purchasing power of the community, although it leads to an increase in subsidies.
Therefore, the government is controlling expenditure and optimizing revenue, including through the coretax taxation system and the potential revenue from the increase in commodity prices such as coal and crude palm oil (CPO).