RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVED A PLAN OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

A nationwide plan to restore the Russian economy was adopted on September 23. According to Kommersant newspaper with reference to the document, the final version of the program of events set out in the plan is estimated at 6.4 trillion rubles. The government plans to ensure the 3% growth of GDP by the end of 2021, accelerating the transition of the public administration system to digital rails and changing the nature of interaction with business.  

Experts note that the tasks set in the document look quite ambitious, given the global forecasts for the development of the crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the possible conflicts that the proposed program of more than 500 events may cause within the governmental system and in the work of business cooperating with the state, the implementation of the plan can seriously strengthen the country's digitalization, increasing the economy's resilience to emerging risks.

Apparently, this time, the ministers managed to systematically combine the previous anti-crisis programs and the trends resulting from their implementation into one plan. Will the government of Mikhail Mishustin be able to use the crisis circumstances, caused by the pandemic, to develop new large-scale projects in the field of domestic tourism and the development of the light industry? The plan proposes a course for the accelerated replacement of strategic imports in the sphere of the functioning of the defense industry complex, investments in the construction of highways.

It is also noted that the current version of the plan contains much fewer elements of protectionism. Basically, support measures are offered in the form of subsidizing companies through the government guarantees and reduced interest rates on loans. The emphasis is laid on the measures of general economic nature, rather than on the sectorial ones.

The plan proposes an extensive deregulation program associated with the transition to digital platforms, through which the necessary control will be carried out. This measure should affect the construction sector to the greatest extent.

The Social Treasury project looks no less revolutionary. According to analysts, its implementation can increase the effectiveness of social policy. At the same time, the first significant decisions in this area can be made in the spring of 2021. Citizens of the country may feel the changes in the social sphere associated with the introduction of new methods for calculating the income of Russian families already in April.

Tax policy in relation to the IT sector and electronics production may become a new direction. Innovation in this area links the development of technical innovation into one project.