President Jokowi has instructed the number of recipients of the PKH program to be increased while the BPNT program is to continue in 2021.
The instructions would require an extra Rp 4 trillion to the Ministry of Social Affairs' budget.
The Rp 4 trillion excludes the additional BPNT program beneficiaries that President Jokowi had requested.
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Currently, the BPNT program caters to 15 million families as the program beneficiaries.
Jokowi is aiming to widen the BPNT coverage to 20 million families. With the increased target, the ministry would require an additional Rp 17.85 trillion in next year’s budget.
In total, Juliari Batubara has asked for the Ministry of Social Affairs' budget in 2021 to receive Rp 91.9 trillion.
Chairman of DPR Commission VIII Yandri Susanto said that the DPR approved of the reasoning behind the ministry’s budget increase.
Yandri added that the DPR understands how the target growth for the PKH and BPNT programs would significantly push the ministry’s 2021 budget total to Rp 91.9 trillion.
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