Government Rolls Out Food Aid and Transport Discounts to Curb Inflation and Boost H2 Economy

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has stated that the government will continue to run a number of programmes in the second half of 2026 to curb inflation and drive economic growth through to the end of the year.

These programmes range from food aid to transport discounts for the school holiday period at Christmas and New Year (Nataru).

“In this second semester, several programmes that continue to be implemented include food aid for 33.24 million beneficiaries, to whom we will provide 10 kilograms of rice, with the aim of curbing inflation,” Airlangga said at a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta on Wednesday, 5 August 2026.

“Then, transport for the school holidays and Nataru has also been prepared with a 30 per cent discount for sea transport, free port charges, and VAT (Value Added Tax) borne by the government for economy-class plane tickets,” he said.

In addition, a six-month internship programme is also being pushed for 150,000 members of Generation Z, after which they are welcome to work at the host company or seek other employment. Based on an evaluation of the government’s most recent internship programme, 60 per cent of participants were hired by the companies where they interned.

“In this programme, they still receive wages from the government,” Airlangga said.

The government will also run vocational training programmes for young people. President Prabowo Subianto is said to have directed that training be provided to 250,000 students.

For the tourism sector, Indonesia is also providing a programme for 33 destinations with a target of 178,000 foreign tourists, as well as supporting international events such as MotoGP in Mandalika, the Borobudur Marathon, and various other events, including music.

“We have also spoken with the Minister of Tourism that these activities are one way to attract tourists to come to Indonesia, and yesterday an MoU was signed with the Prime Minister of Thailand, one element of which is the TransNusa regional aircraft from Bangkok to Jakarta and also from Phuket to Denpasar, so it is hoped that there can be an increase in foreign tourists,” Airlangga said.

“Previously, with Belarus, the President had also discussed providing an opportunity for Belarus to fly directly to destinations in Indonesia,” he said.