VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo said that the amount of budget for research and development programs is Rp26 trillion. This number is regarded to be enough but it is still placed in various ministries and institutions, so that its use has not been maximally enjoyed by the people.

“So we all know that our development and research funds have reached Rp26 trillion. But there must be a big institution, so as it has a clear direction, to enable the targeted R&D programs to be properly achieved. By doing so, innovations will appear in our country. Now the funds are placed in several ministries and government agencies. So we don’t know where the focus is. So it is already a big budget although in the future we want to develop it," said President Joko Widodo. 

Earlier, Ahmad Zacky, Bukalapak founder and CEO, through his personal Twitter account said that Indonesia still ranks the 43rd in the development and research budget with a budget of 2 billion US dollars. The amount of the budget is still lsmall compared to the funds owned by developed countries in supporting research and development. According to Jokowi, the government will also consider providing tax relief in the form of Super Deductible Tax for private sectors who want to be involved in supporting the government in encouraging research and development efforts for these innovations. (VOI/Ndy/PUTRI/AHM)