Indonesia will expand trials of its digital social protection platform, known as Perlinsos, to 42 cities and districts in June 2026. The initiative represents a significant scale-up of a pilot programme designed to modernise welfare distribution through integrated digital public infrastructure. By linking administrative and population data across agencies, the government aims to improve the accuracy and accessibility of social assistance programmes for millions of residents.
According to official reporting, the next phase will expand far beyond the initial pilot launched in Banyuwangi, East Java, in September 2025. Mira Tayyiba, Director General of Digital Government Technology at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, said the rollout represents a forty-two-fold increase in scale compared with the earlier trial.
Scaling Up a National Digital Welfare Platform
The Digital Social Protection system is the country’s first integrated welfare platform built on an upgraded Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) framework. The system is designed to streamline public service delivery by improving connectivity between government databases and simplifying the process for citizens to access support programmes.
Residents can register through the social welfare portal to apply for assistance programmes such as the Family Hope Program (PKH) and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT). During the Banyuwangi pilot, around 350,000 residents registered through the platform to receive financial and food support.
The expanded trial is expected to reach more than 36 million people, equivalent to approximately 1.1 million households. Participating regions span several parts of the country, including Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia.
Infrastructure and Connectivity Remain Key Challenges
To support the larger rollout, the government is preparing technical measures to ensure the system functions reliably across participating regions. These include strengthening the Government Service Connectivity System and improving internet access in areas where digital infrastructure remains uneven.
Tayyiba noted that while some districts already have strong connectivity, others still face limitations in infrastructure that could affect implementation. The digitalisation of welfare delivery therefore depends not only on data integration but also on broader investments in national connectivity. Indonesia has been pursuing wider digital development through initiatives such as its digital infrastructure expansion roadmap to 2029 and other programmes aimed at strengthening nationwide connectivity.
Improving digital infrastructure is considered essential to supporting government platforms that rely on secure data exchange and online access. Recent efforts to expand network capacity and public digital services are also part of broader efforts to ensure digital infrastructure expansion drives connectivity across the archipelago.
Improving Accuracy in Social Assistance Delivery
Beyond technological integration, policymakers see the platform as a way to address long-standing administrative barriers in welfare distribution. According to Arief Anshori Yusuf, a member of the National Economic Council, issues related to population data and administrative records have historically prevented some eligible residents from receiving assistance.
Integrating national identity and population data through a single digital platform is expected to reduce these barriers and improve targeting accuracy. By connecting databases across agencies, the DPI-based system aims to minimise duplication, strengthen verification processes and ensure that aid reaches eligible households more efficiently.
This article is created with the assistance of OpenGov AI.