The Government one year on: facts and figures
(Government.ru – May 20, 2013) The Government, chaired by Dmitry Medvedev, began working on May 21 a year ago.
CONTENTS
1. Examples of the Government’s most important decisions
2. Socioeconomic development: facts and figures
3. Implementation of Presidential Decrees Nos. 596-606 of May 7, 2012
4. Dmitry Medvedev: visits and events as Prime Minister
1. Examples of the Government’s most important decisions
· A total of 3,906 Government legislative acts (resolutions and directives) have been issued since May 8, 2012.
· The Government has submitted 269 draft laws to parliament since May 8, 2012, out of which 113 have been signed by the President.
· The Policy Priorities of the Government of the Russian Federation to 2018 and the Long-Term Socioeconomic Development Forecast of the Russian Federation to 2030, as well as 40 state programmes to develop key socioeconomic sectors have been approved.
· The Government has approved the following programmes:
– Economic issues: Developing Industry and Increasing Competitiveness, Aviation Industry Development, National Space Programme, Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, Shipbuilding Industry Development, Development of the Electronics and Radio Electronics Industry, Science and Technology Development, Transport System Development, as well as Agricultural Development and Regulation of Agricultural Products, Commodities and Food.
– Social issues: Healthcare Development, Education Development, Culture and Tourism Development, Social Support for Citizens, and Affordable and Quality Housing and Utilities.
· The budgetary rule has been enforced to ensure the fulfilment of the Government’s social commitments irrespective of fluctuations in energy prices.
The Government has also approved the following documents:
· Programme for Stage-by-Stage Improvements in the Remuneration System at State (Municipal) Agencies in 2012-2018.
· Strategy for the Long-Term Development of the Pension System of the Russian Federation, which states that priority goals in pension reform are to guarantee a socially acceptable level of pensions and a lasting financial stability of the pension system.
· Road maps in healthcare, education, science and culture to improve the business environment in the construction sector and others.
· Action plan to develop leading universities.
· Stakes in 269 joint stock companies were sold within the privatisation programme in 2012 for a total of 217 billion roubles, the majority of which (211 billion) realised from the sale of large state assets.
· Monthly payments for families with three or more children have been introduced in over 60 regions where the demographic situation is criticial.
· Measures have been developed to stimulate the employment of people with disabilities and ensure accessibility of vocational training, including the improvement of methods of career guidance for children with disabilities and people with special needs. Up to 14,200 jobs for people with disabilities are to be created and set up in the regions every year over the next three years.
· The programme for Affordable and Quality Housing and Utilities has been approved to reduce the cost of housing, to develop the market of affordable leased housing, to support groups of low-income citizens and to promote mortgage lending.
· The Housing and Utilities Reform Fund has been allowed to subsidise investors’ interest rates.
· In oil and gas, the Government adopted decisions to create tax incentives and encourage the development of the resource potential of Eastern Siberia, the Caspian region, offshore hydrocarbon production and the production of hard-to-recover oil reserves. Additional revenue from the implementation of these measures over the next 30 years is expected to amount to around 45 trillion roubles.
· Decisions have been taken to extend the list of subsidised flight routes (up to 33 flight routes in three directions).
· Measures, including financial plans, have been approved to support socially focused NGOs. The sphere of their operation has been expanded. Budgetary allocations have increased from 4.8 billion roubles in 2012 to 8.3 billion in 2013.
· As of April 15, 2013, federal budget transfers to the regions for spring sowing more than doubled, compared with the same date in 2012.
2. Socioeconomic development: facts and figures
In 2012, GDP increased by 3.4%. Unemployment levels totaled 5.5% last year, as compared to 6.5% in 2011. And inflation levels totaled 6.6%.
The federal budget deficit and Russia’s public debt accounted for 0.06% and 10% of the GDP, respectively. This is ten times less than the same figures for other developed countries. The budget deficit in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom was about 9%, 10% and 8.2%, respectively. Public debt volumes in the United States, France and Germany accounted for over 100%, 90% and 83% of their GDP, respectively.
According to various sources, 400-450 new production enterprises, including plants and workshops, were opened in Russia between May 2012 and April 2013. These production facilities received an estimated 500 billion roubles’ worth of investment. Over 30,000 jobs were created at the new enterprises.
In 2012, almost 500 enterprises installed modern equipment. Thirty-five of these enterprises opened new production facilities.
In 2012, 31 world-class patent technologies were developed, and over 800 patent applications were submitted and received.
Over 21 billion roubles were spent on increasing the statutory capital of aircraft industry enterprises. The aircraft industry saw a 12% growth in production.
The radio electronics industry increased production by about 14% on 2011. The industry’s research and development projects received almost 18% more funding, and its civilian research and development projects received 35% more funding (increasing by over a third).
In all, 6.5 GW from new power-generating facilities, including four turbine generators at the Boguchanskay hydroelectric power station, were added to the grid.
In 2012, the livestock breeding sector expanded production by over 6%, including an increase of about 12% in the industrial sector. The pig breeding and poultry breeding sectors accounted for the bulk of this growth.
In 2012, almost two million children were born in Russia, 102,500 more on 2011.
Shortages of places at kindergartens decreased by 20%.
In 2012, about 10,000 women were able to take part in professional-training, retraining and courses which increased their qualifications during their maternity leave for the period until their children turn three years old.
A large-scale programme to build high-tech medical centres was completed, and over 70 hospitals and outpatient clinics built.
In 2012, Russia adopted new international birth registration criteria in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, which stipulate the registering of all infants who weigh 500 grams and more. This will make it possible to save the lives of 1,000 babies annually.
The average wages of teachers and doctors were raised by 20% and 18%, respectively.
The programme to considerably raise the pay grades of military personnel and their pensions was fully implemented.
In all, 65 million square metres of housing were built and made ready for use, an all time high since 1990. The statistics for the first six months of 2013 are equally positive.
In all, 691,000 mortgages to a total value of over one trillion roubles were issued. This exceeds 2011 levels by 30%.
Mortgage rates were reduced and stood at 12.8% on March 1, 2013.
In 2011- 2012, the tenants of almost 8,000 rundown buildings were relocated under regional relocation programmes.
Gazprom spent about 37 billion roubles on building gas pipelines in Russian regions. Transneft opened the Baltic Pipeline System-II and completed the second stage of the Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean Oil Pipeline. Gazprom completed the first line of the Bovanenkovo Ukhta gas pipeline, which is over 1,200 kilometres long. Consequently, gas from the Yamal Peninsula started flowing through the integrated gas supply system. The second line of the Nord Stream gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic metres of gas also started operating.
In July 2012, construction of the new Sabetta seaport was launched on the Yamal Peninsula. This construction project can be considered part of an ambitious programme to revive the Northern Sea Route.
In 2012, Russian airlines carried over 74 million passengers, or 15.5% more on 2011.
In 2012, Russian airports handled over 92 million Russian and foreign passengers. Passenger volume increased by almost 16%. In all, airliners were filled to 80% of their capacity, exceeding average European levels.
In 2012, over 456,000 passengers from Central Russia bought plane tickets to the Russian Far East at a special discount price. In 2011, the number of these passengers was 372,000.
In 2012, socially important facilities and housing in disaster zones and fire-prone areas in 26 Russian regions were built and renovated.
Over 214,000 people were rescued during fires, emergencies, accidents and disasters.
The prison population decreased from 818,000 in 2010 to 702,000 in late 2012 and to 695,594 on April 1, 2013. In 2012, local courts sentenced 56% more offenders to corrective labour.
3. Implementation of Presidential Decrees Nos. 596-606 of May 7, 2012
Of the 218 Presidential instructions for the government, 151 are to be implemented in 2012-2013. As of May 20, 2013, the Government has implemented 111 instructions, of which 88 no longer need to be monitored.
· The first year of working to the presidential decrees largely involved the planning and creation of the required legislation and methodology:
· 31 federal laws have been adopted, and the State Duma is considering another 25 bills;
· the Government has approved over 80 regulatory documents and over 60 programmes, strategies, concepts, lists of measures, as well as various plans and roadmaps.
The measures taken to implement these decrees include:
· The pay grades of military personnel have been increased and are not lower than the wages of employees in the leading economic sectors.
· Additional budget funding has been allocated to pay stipends and grants to cultural figures and artists, creative young people, as well as to pay grants for supporting cultural and art projects of national significance.
· Legislation has been amended to rule out the possibility of settling commercial disputes through criminal prosecution.
· Compensation has been stipulated for housing and municipal utility payments for single pensioners living in their respective flats for at least ten years.
· A system for assessing the performance of heads of executive federal agencies and senior regional officials has been created in order to improve the business environment. This system is based on qualitative and quantitative measurements of improvement in the investment climate.
· Measures to identify and support gifted children and young people have been drafted.
· In some economic sectors, excessive and/or ineffective administrative mechanisms of state oversight have been replaced with alternative market mechanisms, including liability insurance.
· Measures have been taken to increase the budget provision levels of local budgets, to ensure sustained volumes of regional financial support funds and to co-finance municipal entities.
4. Dmitry Medvedev: visits and events as Prime Minister
· The Prime Minister made 58 working visits across Russia.
· During these visits, he attended the launch of new enterprises and facilities, including:
· a new carbamide (urea) facility and a gas turbine power station at Cherepovets (launch);
· the ceremony for the rolling out of the first EP20 electric locomotive in Novocherkassk;
· the Zapolyarnoye oil and gas condensate field on the Yamal Peninsula (reaching full capacity);
· the Adlerskaya thermal power station (reaching full capacity);
· the production of GAZelle Next vehicles at the Gorky Automobile Factory in Nizhny Novgorod (launch);
· the production of internal combustion engines at the Volkswagen Group Rus factory in Kaluga (groundbreaking);
· polystyrene production at Sibur’s Khimprom petrochemical factory in the Perm Territory (launch of the second phase);
· the bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait in Vladivostok (opening);
· the Mikhail Lermontov State Russian Drama Theatre in Grozny (unveiling of a new building).
· The Prime Minister made 17 foreign visits.
· He attended large Russian and international forums, including:
· 2nd St Petersburg International Legal Forum;
· Common Economic Space: New Opportunities for Industrial Development, business forum;
· Innoprom 2012, international industry fair;
· 11th International Investment Forum in Sochi;
· Yalta Business Meetings, international investment forum;
· Russia in the Global Context, session during the World Economic Forum meeting in Moscow;
· the first international Anti-Counterfeiting 2012 forum;
· Open Innovations Forum in Moscow;
· the AsiaEurope Meeting (ASEM);
· 4th Russian-Finnish Forestry Forum;
· the Russia and the World: Challenges of Integration, international conference (the Gaidar Forum);
· the World Economic Forum in Davos;
· 10th Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum;
· the Baltic Sea Forum;
· 3rd St Petersburg International Legal Forum.