MBG Budget Reaffirmed as Uncut, Purbaya: BGN's Own Efficiency

The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme is planned to run five days a week as part of efficiency measures. The goal is to keep the programme beneficial for society without wasteful spending.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the current policy direction for MBG remains on the right track. The government is adapting the programme’s implementation to the latest conditions, including the option to reduce operational days.

“The budget looks good. The steps taken are also quite positive,” Purbaya said at the Ministry of Finance office on Friday (27/3/2026).

According to him, changing the scheme to five days does not mean reducing the programme’s objectives, but rather adjusting the rhythm to be more efficient and sustainable. The government wants to ensure that every rupiah spent truly impacts society.

“That means adapting to changing circumstances. So there should be no issues,” he said.

Purbaya emphasised that the government is not cutting the MBG budget. He noted that the adjustments are coming from the programme’s managers themselves, namely the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), as long as the quality of benefits received by society is maintained.

“MBG is not being cut by me. They (BGN) are doing their own efficiencies. As long as there is efficiency and it doesn’t reduce the quality of the meals, I’m fine with it,” he said.

Besides MBG, the government is also preparing efficiencies in other spending posts across all ministries and agencies. This step is part of the next phase of budget restructuring package.

“In other areas, across all ministries, there are efficiencies. There’s a third phase that we’re designing to cover the existing budget shortfall,” Purbaya said.

However, he has not detailed the total amount of efficiencies to be carried out. The government is still calculating needs and available savings space.

“We’ll calculate it later,” he said.

It is recorded that for the 2026 fiscal year, the government has allocated a budget of Rp335 trillion for the continuation of the MBG programme.

The expenditure channelled through ministries/agencies (K/L), specifically the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), is only Rp268 trillion. Meanwhile, the remaining Rp67 trillion is reserved, equivalent to 20 percent of the total budget.