Indonesia to launch nationwide digital social assistance system by October 2026

Indonesia's government is clarifying the roles of three key data bases—Data Terpadu Kesejahteraan Sosial (DTKS), Data Terpadu Sosial Ekonomi Nasional (DTSEN) and the former Basis Data Terpadu (BDT)—which underpin the targeting of social assistance programmes. DTKS serves as the primary database for assessing households' welfare status, DTSEN aggregates broader socioeconomic data for the whole population, and BDT is the legacy term that has been superseded by DTKS.

Deputy Minister of State‑owned Enterprises Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan announced that a digitalisation pilot for social assistance, running in 43 regencies and cities, is slated for national rollout in October 2026, pending a rapid evaluation. The digital platform, part of Indonesia’s GovTech agenda, aims to improve efficiency, transparency and accuracy of aid distribution. Local authorities are urged to complete the pilot by the end of August 2026 and achieve 60‑70% citizen registration through the Perlinsos portal, which will inform the final rollout schedule.