Social Assistance Quota May Increase, Says Gus Ipul: Depends on Presidential Policy
The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) has opened the possibility of increasing the allocation for national social assistance (bansos) recipients, provided that the digitalisation of the social protection system (Perlinsos Digital) and the updating of population data are robust and precisely validated.
Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, commonly known as Gus Ipul, stated that the current quota for recipients of the Family Hope Program (PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) managed by the Ministry remains fixed at 18.3 million.
“The allocation will be reviewed later; for now, the social assistance quota remains at 18 million. However, there is a possibility of an increase, depending on the President’s policy. We will examine the facts and the current conditions and report them to the President,” said Gus Ipul, as quoted on Thursday (1/9/2026).
He explained that the digital social protection system is integrated in real-time with the National Socio-Economic Single Data (DTSEN) managed by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) across decile rankings 1 to 10. Social assistance such as PKH and BPNT (staple foods) is only entitled to poor and vulnerable groups, proven by their inclusion in deciles 1-4 of the National Socio-Economic Single Data.
Through the digital social protection system, which utilises biometric data integration and Artificial Intelligence (AI), decile updates can occur rapidly and accurately, while providing transparency regarding the reasons for a family’s eligibility or ineligibility for assistance.
The Minister added that the success of the digitalisation trial for the PKH and BPNT programmes will serve as a reference for other ministries and agencies in transforming their own assistance programmes, such as the Smart Indonesia Programme (PIP) under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, as well as LPG and fuel (BBM) subsidies.
“The trial is initially for PKH and BPNT. Once this is completed and established, social protection programmes in other ministries/agencies will automatically follow. If the data becomes increasingly valid and solid, that is when subsidies will transition directly to the intended beneficiaries,” the Minister said.
This follows the results of a ministerial-level meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, led by the Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Muhaimin Iskandar, alongside the Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, and the Chairman of the Government Digital Transformation Acceleration Committee, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.