State budget designed for human resources' quality improvement: Govt

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Djiwandono stated that the state budget is strategically crafted to enhance the quality of Indonesia’s human resources.

Djiwandono made the remark at the Nomura-Verdhana Indonesia Conference 2024 in Jakarta on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

The deputy minister underscored the need to address matters related to human resources so that Indonesia can move forward.

He ensured that the new government, under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto, had made various strategic decisions to respond to challenges in the development of human resources, such as the Free Nutritious Meals program, which is one of the flagship programs of President Prabowo.

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“Free Nutritious Meals is a nutritional improvement program which is a starting point of investment in the improvement of the quality of Indonesian human resources,” he affirmed.

In addition to the free meals program, the government is focusing on food security, health, and improvement of the education sector.

In this regard, he affirmed that the Ministry of Finance will continue to focus on the fiscal condition with a precautionary principle.

The Ministry of Finance has set a budget for the free meals program of Rp71 trillion (around US$4.51 billion) for the 2025 budget year, or 0.29 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The budget includes food, distribution, and operational costs of institutions that handle the program.

The program is targeted to provide a multiplier economic effect. In addition to improving the quality of human resources, the free meals program is expected to drive economic growth by around 0.10 percent.

It is also estimated to provide jobs to 0.82 million workers through the empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).