Prabowo's free lunch plan would bite into Indonesia's budget, analysts warn

JAKARTA -- Indonesia risks blowing its budget if the country's expected new leader makes good on a pledge to hand out free school lunches to nearly 80 million children in a program that could cost about $29 billion a year, analysts warn.

Prabowo Subianto's policy of providing lunch and milk to a total of 78.5 million students at some 400,000 schools nationwide formed the centerpiece of his campaign in last month's presidential election, taking aim at malnourishment and stunted growth -- both serious health issues across the archipelago of 270 million.