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:
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:
The following events will be implemented:
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:
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:
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:
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.