VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Vladimir Putin's speech at a meeting of the Governmental Commission for Budgetary Projections for the Next Fiscal Year and the Plan Period:
Good afternoon,
On our agenda today are amendments to the federal budget for the current year 2008 and the plan period 2009-2010, and also amendments to the budgets of the Pension Fund, the social and medical insurance funds.
The required materials have been presented by the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Social Development. The updated projection of the federal budgetary revenues will increase to almost 9 trillion roubles, i.e. by more than 900 billion roubles. My heartfelt congratulations.
The revenues of off-budget funds will also grow by a total of over 100 billion roubles.
This result has been achieved not only due to the rise of world energy prices, but to a large extent due to the growth of the Russian economy. As for the expenditure part, the proposed changes are mainly to do with the following positions.
First, we should direct financial resources into some new initiatives in the social sphere. I stress, these are new initiatives and the budget for this year earlier did not include these items.
It is necessary within the next months to allocate 8.9 billion roubles to house WWII veterans, and another 4.4 billion roubles to provide special transport for war invalids or pay equivalent compensation to them.
4.8 billion roubles is allocated to increase allowances for care of elderly citizens, disabled people, including children.
To protect child allowances and other social benefits against inflation they are to be raised by 5.7 billion roubles.
Another 10 billion roubles will be earmarked to provide medicines to people entitled to federal benefits. That money, in accordance with earlier decisions, will be sent to the Russian regions.
Second, we should promptly react to the situation in the agricultural market. We must support the domestic producer. Hence, we must cushion our citizens against sharp food price fluctuations.
We had a special meeting on this topic last week. We decided to additionally transfer 49.5 billion roubles for the needs of the domestic agricultural sector. Out of that sum 31.5 billion roubles will go into increasing the authorised capital of Rosselkhozbank, which will go a long way towards increasing its capacity to extend credit to the agro-industrial complex and ensure the stability of the grain market, i.e. to make interventions as the need arises. Up to 5 million metric tons of grain is to be procured for these interventions.
10 billion roubles will go into subsidies for the producers of poultry and pork. That assistance will help our producers cope with the rising prices of animal feeds.
And 8 billion roubles is allocated to finance the procurement of mineral fertiliser. That money will be raised by introducing a corresponding export duty on these fertilisers.
Today we are to put a final seal on the proposed amendments. I have mentioned only some of them.
The necessary bills will be considered at one of the early meetings of the Russian Government. After that they should be promptly sent to Parliament.
I open the floor for discussion.
