The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the Government meeting on Oct. 18, 2012:

1. On the draft state programme Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry

The state programme aims to implement activities related to the state policy on the pharmaceutical and medical industry's transition to an innovative development model oriented towards creating a modern infrastructure, strengthening the role of local producers on the domestic market, facilitating the development of innovative products, and training personnel for contemporary production facilities.

The state programme also aims to improve state regulation over drug and medical product turnover.

2.  On the draft state programme Environmental Protection

The state programme's primary aim is to increase the environmental safety of citizens and to preserve nature systems.

The draft state programme includes the following sub-programmes: Regulation of the Quality of the Environment, Biodiversity, Hydrometeorology and the Monitoring of the Environment, Organisation and Provision of Work and Research in the Antarctic, Provisions for the Implementation of the State Programme, and the Protection of Lake Baikal and the Socio-Economic Development of the Baikal Natural Area for the 2012-2020 federal targeted programme.

3. On the draft federal law On Protecting the Population against the Effects of Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke and Consequences of Tobacco Consumption

The draft law has been developed to improve the law concerning the protection of the population against the effects of second-hand tobacco smoke and the consequences of tobacco consumption, taking into consideration the statutes of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The draft law has been developed due to the high occurrence of tobacco consumption and its related negative medical, demographic and other socio-economic consequences.

The draft law provides for:

• Defining the powers of the bodies of various levels of authorities, as well as the rights and obligations of citizens, individual entrepreneurs and legal bodies in social security and the protection of the population against the consequences of tobacco consumption;
• implementing a smoking ban in territories and in premises assigned for services in the social security, education, culture, youth policy, physical fitness and sports, and state and municipal services sectors, on city and commuter transport means, in open territories at a distance less than 10 metres from entrances to railway stations, coach terminals, airports, ports, metro stations, and in the premises of the aforementioned facilities, at working places and in workspaces, in common areas of blocks of flats, and on children’s playgrounds and beaches; 
• implementing a stage-by-stage smoking ban in territories and in premises assigned for medical and rehabilitation services, in long-distance trains, in aircraft and foreign-going ships, in premises assigned for housing, consumer and commercial services, public catering areas and markets, and in non-fixed site retail outlets;
• increasing tobacco excise taxes and setting minimal tobacco retail prices;
• promoting information on the adverse effects of tobacco smoking and the adverse effects of second-hand tobacco smoke;
• implementing a tobacco advertising ban, banning tobacco promotion and tobacco sponsorship, banning public demonstration of tobacco products and smoking;
• extending medical care to help people quit smoking and to treat tobacco dependence;
• restricting tobacco wholesale and retail trade. It is proposed to reserve the right to sell tobacco only to fixed-site retail outlets with an area exceeding 50 sq m in cities and towns and 25 sq m in and around villages;
• banning the sale of tobacco to minors and by minors;
• conducting an inventory of tobacco production, import, export, wholesale and retail trade, and monitoring tobacco production equipment, movement and distribution.

4. On the plan of activities to develop leading universities

Based on global experience, international recognition provides serious support to all areas of national education, helps to develop the sciences at educational institutions and consequently strengthens the total national strategic potential.

The plan to develop leading universities seeks to raise their competitiveness among the world's top scientific and educational centres.

The plan is divided into the following areas:

• organising, economic, regulatory and legal support;
• developing the personnel potential;
• developing education and research.

The following events will be implemented:

• independently assessing the international competitiveness of the universities;
• competitively selecting 10-15 participating universities based on the criteria to improve their international competitiveness;
• forming an organising, economic and financial model of participating universities, taking into consideration the tasks for improving international competitiveness, as well as developing road maps to promote them in global university ratings;
• implementing road maps on promoting participating universities on global university ratings through the renewal of their management teams and attracting academic managers from abroad, and organising and conducting procedures to attract young professors and laboratory heads. It is planned to develop and introduce joint educational programmes with foreign universities, and Russian and international high-tech companies.

The plan also includes establishing the International Council for Improving the Competitiveness of Leading Russian Universities.

5. On the distribution of Federal Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund subsidies for regional programmes to modernise regional health care to give an incentive to the regions that achieved the best indicators in implementing these programmes over the first half of 2012

The regions were selected based on four criteria, including:

• the proportion of the Mandatory Medical Fund's subsidies and the regional budget funds used as of July 1, 2012 should not be below the average Russian indicator of 54.4%;
• the slowdown of the mortality rate in the first half of 2012 is not below the average Russian indicator;
• the implementation of the plan to open offices of general practitioners, ambulant clinics, rural health posts and centres as of July 1, 2012 is proceeding more quickly than the average Russian indicator.

Following the conducted assessment, the Ministry of Healthcare selected 51 regions.

The total allocations awarded to these regions amounted to 8.7 billion roubles.

6. On the distribution of subsidies to regional budgets for implementing regional programmes to improve budget-spending effectiveness

The federal budget includes subsidies for regional programmes to improve budget-spending effectiveness in 2012.

Following the rules for extending subsidies, 15 regions were selected. These regions met the budget law requirements and implemented the conditions for getting subsidies. These regions produced the best results in improving budget-spending efficiency in 2011.

Since the provision of subsidies is an incentive, the total subsidies included in the federal budget are distributed between two groups of regions in the following ratio:

• 70% are distributed between the regions with the highest assessment of their results in improving the efficiency of budget spending (maximum 10 regions);
• 30% are distributed among other regions selected for subsidies (maximum 5 regions).

7. On the distribution of federal budget subsidies to regions for purchasing specialised fire-fighting machinery and equipment in 2012

The Federal Forestry Agency extends subsidies of 3,500 million roubles to co-fund fire-fighting machinery purchases.

This year, the subsidies were extended to 79 regions. The distribution does not include the subsidy for the Moscow Region, as the fire-fighting machinery and equipment at the region's disposal exceeds the standard figure by 2.7 times.

8. On amending the Statute on the Ministry of Finance

The federal law On Accounting expands the functions of the Ministry of Finance in regulation of accountancy and accounting control. The following functions are delegated to the Ministry of Finance:

• adopting federal accounting standards, including the standards establishing streamlined accounting methods, such as streamlined accounting (financial) reporting for small businesses;
• adopting sector accounting standards within the Ministry's powers;
• adopting the federal accounting standards development programme, as well as the rules for developing and finalising this programme;
• adopting regulations on the accounting standards council;
• adopting the requirements for the execution of the draft accounting standards, as well as the procedure for the publication of the accounting documents.

In addition, under the federal law On Accounting, the Ministry of Finance must organise an expert review of draft accounting standards, generalise the practice of their use, participate in the established procedure in developing international accounting standards, and represent Russia in international organisations operating in accounting and financial reporting. 

Moscow, Oct. 17, 2012

* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information are based on the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Government Presidium.