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View all search resultsGovt to trial direct cash aid transfers in 2027
The planned system would eventually shift social assistance from in-kind aid to cash transfers, with the government considering safeguards to ensure the money is spent on essential goods.
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Luhut Pandjaitan (center) chairman of the National Economic Council (DEN), speaks to reporters alongside DEN executive secretary Septian Hario Seto (right) and DEN member Chatib Basri, after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta on June 9, 2026. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
T
he government plans to begin testing a system of direct cash transfers for social aid in the first half of 2027 as it seeks to improve the targeting of its welfare program.
The National Economic Council (DEN) head Luhut Pandjaitan said the government is currently in the process of cleaning and matching beneficiary data, expected to be completed by the end of the year before trials begin between the first and second quarters of 2027.
“We plan to finish all of this by the end of this year. At the beginning of next year […] we will conduct trials,” Luhut said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The planned system would eventually shift social assistance from in-kind aid to cash transfers, with the government considering safeguards to ensure the money is spent on essential goods, he added.
Read also: Govt to launch digital aid distribution system in October
“Social assistance will eventually be given in cash, perhaps using coupons, so that its use is appropriate. It cannot be used for online gambling or liquor, but perhaps for eggs, chicken and so on,” Luhut said.
Luhut said the government was still calculating the amount of assistance, which he estimated at around Rp 5.4 million (US$306) per family, subject to President Prabowo Subianto’s approval.
