During their meeting, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Yevtushenkov discussed the introduction of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and its use in the Interior Ministry and motor vehicles. Mr Yevtushenkov said the system is already helping to detect crimes and reduce the number of traffic fatalities, and that it will provide significant help in these areas in the future. Mr Yevtushenkov also expressed his belief that the widespread application of GLONASS in Russia will begin in 2011.
Mr Putin and Mr Yevtushenkov discussed mapping issues and Russian-Indian cooperation on a number of large-scale projects, including the marketing of GLONASS services in India, which Prime Minister Putin declared an unqualified success. "We have been trying to diversify our economic ties with India for a long time now and to move bilateral trade beyond traditional products into more high-tech products," the prime minister said.
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr. Yevtushenkov, my first question is about the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). How is work progressing, including on the ground-based equipment? How are you addressing your key task of regional positioning? And how is work proceeding in the transport sector?
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: I would like to inform you that your 2009 decision establishing a federal network operator has already proved itself to be the right move. Founding the company Navigation and Information Systems (NIS) GLONASS made it possible to drastically expedite the marketing of all GLONASS services that are useful in everyday life.
For example, the smart transport system being developed for Moscow right now will make it possible to reduce traffic jams and to improve the city's transport situation, which, as you know, leaves much to be desired. Moreover, the Interior Ministry has started using NIS GLONASS services. Over 20,000 vehicles have been equipped with GLONASS receivers to date. There is also a rather large number of vehicles in the city. This equipment has reportedly helped detect 194 crimes to date. And most importantly, this technology vastly improves and streamlines the work of the Interior Ministry, a very complex ministry.
Vladimir Putin: They are currently proposing additional budget funding for this programme.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Yes, and I would like to ask you to support this proposal. All the proposals they are submitting have been coordinated with us. Everything will depend on you and the kind of support you provide.
A transport-logistics diagram of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games is also being developed. Our pilot project has been approved. A portion of the trucks operating in Sochi has already been equipped with our receivers. We plan to equip virtually all transport systems involved in the Olympics with NIS GLONASS receivers.
However, the so-called ERA GLONASS project is the federal network operator's crown jewel. It involves the operation of private and public civil transport. As you know, the whole of Europe and even Latin American countries like Brazil are switching over to eCall, which provides rapid assistance to motorists involved in a collision. They are mandating that all vehicles be equipped with Galileo or GPS receivers. We believe that GLONASS will help reduce the number of traffic fatalities. There's the so-called "golden hour," which is a window for providing emergency medical treatment. Otherwise, 56% of victims die before the arrival of an Emergencies Ministry unit, an ambulance or some other emergency service.
As you know, over 25,000 Russians were killed in traffic accidents last year, and over 25,000 more were badly injured. It is thought that installing GLONASS receivers on motor vehicles will drastically reduce the number of fatalities by allowing emergency services, be it the police, units of the Emergencies Ministry, or ambulances to arrive at the scene 30% faster. Once Europe transitions to this system, we will have to follow suit, and we now have the opportunity to do it even faster. The EU has decided to equip all motor vehicles by 2013. If the relevant legislation is passed, we could create a similar system even more quickly, especially since we have already worked out the technical side. All that is left is to take the necessary political and organisational decisions.
Vladimir Putin: And how is work on the maps proceeding?
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Naturally, mapping is critical, as it would be very difficult to respond to an accident without navigational maps or with maps containing major errors. I believe your decision to hold a meeting on mapping a month and a half ago came at the right time. Today I can say that all bureaucratic obstacles have been overcome. That meeting has clarified all the issues. The only problem is that it takes time to establish a mapping corporation under a public-private partnership and to create a master map. We are already moving in this direction and have connected over 235 major cities. We are already updating existing digital navigation maps for a number of cities. So this work is underway, and I think 2010 has been a breakthrough year. We must keep up the pace and keep a finger on the pulse, but these processes have already been set in motion.
Of course, it will be more difficult to commercialise the technology, by which I mean producing receivers, telephones with GLONASS, smartphones and other mobile devices equipped with GLONASS chips for the private sector. We have been working on it, but to be perfectly honest, this phase of the project is more difficult to implement. I believe that we will develop the prototypes by the end of 2010. We have been in talks with almost all providers of these devices, like Nokia, Siemens and Motorola. They understand that we intend to close the market to devices not equipped with GLONASS chips. They are just waiting for this to become law. But we cannot pass a law now because we are busy making chipsets and solving other related problems. But they will manage fine, because the Americans did the same thing. They defended their market as they incorporated GPS. I think we will be able to solve all our technical and technological issues and we will see the widespread application of GLONASS in Russia in 2011.Vladimir Putin: It is good that our partners understand that we are going to promote our own product on our market and defend our national interests. We need to build good relations with them, like we did with the carmakers. We showed them the trends, they reacted in due time, and now they are very satisfied with the current situation on the whole. We need to do the same in this case, so that there is the appropriate response from the industry. But there is also another issue - the production of the necessary equipment and devices in Russia.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: I am not concerned about this because we have been working on this issue. It all boils down to price. We will definitely produce some equipment here, in considerable quantities. Some equipment will be produced jointly with our partners, some in third countries, like other producers do. It is a question of price. It will be more expensive to produce some of the equipment here.
Vladimir Putin: Because of the cost of labour?
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Nevertheless, we talked about this two years ago. You told me about your plans to set up production, in part, in countries with inexpensive labour and the necessary technology. But we still need to create jobs in Russia.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: It's true; this is our fault. The cost of creating a new job has a certain financial component. We need certain administrative decisions to be taken to ease the process. In particular, this concerns technology parks and industrial zones. We will pursue these initiatives if possible.
Vladimir Putin: We have such zones. You can use existing platforms.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: That's what I mean.
Vladimir Putin: You should clearly formulate what you need. This works well in many countries. One of them is India. I know that you have developed a successful business there. Your company and the state are partners. How is the business going?
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: Thank you for raising this issue. Our business in India has been boosted by your recent visit to the country. We have set up a pan-Indian operator. We have been developing rapidly and now have over six million users, about 800,000 - 900,000 new connections each month. It could reach 10-12 million by the end of the year, and we can reach 1.2 million new connections per month next year. We were named the fastest growing operator in 2009 and 2010 both in terms of call and data services. Actually, the internet conference showed that we were the only one providing those services. This helped us strengthen our position, and it showed everyone that we came to India with serious intentions.
Your recent visit has helped promote the GLONASS system. We have signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Agency to promote GLONASS services across India. Now we have to make a chipset for them and build facilities producing navigation equipment in the country. There are some limitations, but the fact is that we made this agreement and built a successful partnership with them. This is a great achievement.
Vladimir Putin: Very good. We have been trying to diversify our economic ties with India, to move bilateral trade beyond traditional products into more high-tech products. And there can be no doubt that we are having success.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov: We've also created the first security system for the Indian metro and developed a communication network for the police in two Indian states. They have seen that we can successfully implement large-scale projects. We are now planning to spread this project to involve the whole country. This would be a big deal.
The Indian side has also approved the creation of an information centre similar to the Russian Emergencies Ministry centre on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. As you know, we will be building such a centre in Venezuela. We are also negotiating similar deals with Mexico and Cuba.
So, we have given a significant boost to a number of Indian projects. Concerns that we've lost India as a business partner are unfounded. On the contrary, we are working together more and more closely. This can be seen from the visiting Indian delegations that involve many ministers. Our ties have resumed and are gaining strength, which is very gratifying. Our goal is to keep up the pace.
Vladimir Putin: Good.