Komsomolskaya Pravda: “Prime Minister registers economic growth”
The government promises to fulfill social commitments.
Yesterday, the government approved the main parameters of the budget for the coming year. Funding for social programmes and modernisation projects will be increased despite the shortage of money in the public coffers.
Opening the meeting, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said: "We are observing serious improvement in the economy as we successfully overcome the aftermath of the global crisis and resume steady growth. In the second quarter, the GDP increased by 5.4%. Inflation stands at its historic minimum – less than 6% in annual terms. Quite recently, much more modest rates of post-crisis recovery were predicted."
Putin emphasised that these gains must be consolidated, and in light of its recent success, the government will continue funding the federal targeted programmes. Next year, it will spend 981 billion roubles on 60 programmes.
"We have found an opportunity not only to continue the programmes already in place but also to start a number of new ones. I'm referring to the spheres in which we still see bottlenecks and breakthrough projects that require state participation," Putin continued.
Thus, next year the government will spend 3.5 billion roubles on the construction of the Vostochny space port in the Amur Region. It will also finance the pharmaceuticals industry and the development of domestic tourism. The government will allocate 1 billion roubles to the environmental protection of Lake Baikal and 2.3 billion to creating more comfortable conditions for people with disabilities.
"These are our commitments to the people and we will consistently carry them out," Putin said.
In addition to its social and environmental programmes, next year the government is planning to make life easier for entrepreneurs by resolving customs issues. Our customs service will join the International Convention on the Simplification and Coordination of Customs Procedures, which will make it much easier to transport commodities across borders.
Nigina Beroyeva
