BALI RANKS 15TH FOR HDI

Denpasar, Bali, April 25 (ANTARA) - Bali now ranks 15th among Indonesia's 33 provinces in terms of Human Development Index (HDI), which among others measures education, healthcare, purchasing power and environmental conservation.

"The Bali provincial administration is making various breakthroughs to improve its HDI in pursuit of being one of top ten provinces with the highest HDI," Bali provincial administration spokesman I Putu Suardhika said here on Sunday.

He said the sectors which determine HDI currently topped the list of the province's development priorities among the seven key programs Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika and Deputy Governor AAN Puspayoga had launched.

In the education sector, the province had allocated Rp125 billion to implement a 12-year compulsory education program. The fund was taken from the 2010 regional budget, he said.

To ensure the success of the program, the budget allocations for the education program included scholarships for students of unable parents, he said.

Putu Suardhika said the provincial government also had allocated Rp127 billion in funds for the development of the health sector. The funds would be used among others to finance a free health service program for the entire community under the so-called Bali Mandara Health Guarantee (JKBM) program.

The JKBM program involved 130 public health service posts, eight regional hospitals, Indera hospital, Bangli insane asylum and Sanglah hospital, he said.