Russian government to support institutes promoting regions development

Matters concerning support for higher learning establishments which play a key role in the socio-economic development of regions will be discussed on Wednesday at a government meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the government press service reported. Those present will consider proposals on measures in support of such institutions of higher learning. The measures include development programmes which are implemented jointly with the leading enteprrises of regions, as well as an increase in budget-funded space at institutes for the training of personnel for priority fields of the regions' development. The government will reviee the implementation of measures of State support for leading universities of the Russian Federation with a view to raising their competitiveness among the world's major science and education centers. Presidential decrees dated May 7, 2012, in particular, set a task of enabling not less than five Russian universities to take a place among the first 100 leading world universities accordig to the international rating. A government decision dated October 29, 2012, approved a plan of measures to develop major universitites. The allocation of 9,000 million roubles from the 2013 Federal budget is provided for to implement programmes for raising their competitiveness. The Cabinet will also consider changes in the Federal law "On Common Principles for Organizing Local Self-Government in the RF" to seal unified approaches to the exercise of State control over the activities of administration bodies at this level, including arrangements for scheduled checks and unannounced verifications. It is suggested that scheduled checks will be carried out not more often than once in two years. In the process, a restricted-access list of instances when unannounced inspections are possible is to be decided upon. Yet another item on the agenda will be a draft decision envisaging the vesting of the Ministry of Economic Development with powers to work out functional requirements for a common information system in the sphere of purchases, the establishment of such a system, its development, management and servicing. The draft of yet another decision, which is also to be considered at the government meeting, suggests vesting the Ministry with functions to regulate the contractual system in the field of procurement. The adoption of these documents will make it possible to ensure a timely implementation of the plan of measures and the entering into force of the law on a contractual system in the sphere of the purchases of commodities, works, and services to meet public and municipal needs from Janury 1, 2014. A separate segment of items concerns the distribution of subsidies. It refers, in particular, to a redistribution of subsidies to the budgets of the RF regions for State support for small and medium-sized entrepreneurship. This will help reduce the amount of subsidies for Moscow and St Petersburg and increase the size of subsidies to Tatarstan and Mordovia. The government members are also expected to appropve a draft decision on the setting up of a Council for awarding RF government prizes in the field of media. Ten such prizes of one million roubles each have been awarded since 2005 to print media professionals for considerable creative and professional achievements. Since July this year, prizes will be awarded in the field of media as a whole, and notto only to print media.