The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, announced that his agency has returned Rp70 trillion from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program budget. He explained that the funds were returned because the large allocation could not be fully absorbed within the current fiscal year.

Responding to this, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa clarified that the total amount returned by BGN actually reached Rp100 trillion. The funds in question were part of an additional request submitted by BGN for the MBG program this year, which had not yet been disbursed or allocated by the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, the Rp71 trillion that had already been officially allocated within the 2025 State Budget (APBN) remains under BGN’s management.

“As far as I know, they returned Rp100 trillion from the extra budget they had requested earlier, but that money was never actually budgeted. So, technically, the funds didn’t exist yet — they were part of a proposal that had not been allocated,” Purbaya explained at the Ministry of Finance Office, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday (October 14, 2025).

He further stated that the Rp71 trillion already included in the APBN will continue to be monitored closely to evaluate how much of it can be absorbed by the end of the year.

“The focus for us is the Rp71 trillion that has already been budgeted, not the returned amount. We’ll be tracking how much can actually be utilized by year-end. The program itself is good, so we want to encourage better execution. It’s only October now — I’ll be monitoring it until the end of the month,” he said.

During a press conference for the APBN KITA report, Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara revealed that the MBG program has reached 31.2 million recipients so far. As of early October 2025, the budget realization stood at Rp20.6 trillion, or roughly 29% of the total Rp71 trillion budget.

“If we look at the distribution, it’s already underway across all regions in Indonesia — Sumatra alone has about 6.6 million recipients, followed by Java, Kalimantan, and other regions,” Suahasil explained.

Previously, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) admitted that it could not fully absorb the entire allocation for this year. Therefore, Rp70 trillion was returned to President Prabowo Subianto.

According to Dadan Hindayana, the government had provided a large-scale budget allocation to ensure that the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program could reach all intended beneficiaries. However, from the total Rp71 trillion allocation plus Rp100 trillion standby funds, not all of it could be utilized this year.

“This year, BGN received an allocation of Rp71 trillion, along with Rp100 trillion in standby funds. Of this total, Rp99 trillion was absorbed, while Rp70 trillion was returned to the President of the Republic of Indonesia because it was unlikely to be spent this year,” said Dadan in a written statement on Tuesday (October 14, 2025).

He added that government support for next year will rise significantly, with BGN expected to receive Rp268 trillion, making it the single largest-funded institution within the cabinet.