MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/: Russia’s National Projects are about concrete tasks, resources to fulfill them and personal responsibility, and this is what makes them different from the previous programs, Russian President Vladimir Putin told TASS in an interview for the project entitled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin."
"Each issue implies personal responsibility. That is what the National Projects are all about," he said, adding: "We have never used such tools before."
When asked to explain the difference between the current National Projects and the programs that had been implemented since 2006 under Dmitry Medvedev, who had served as first deputy prime minister at the time, Putin pointed out that "there weren’t any Medvedev national projects, insofar as we are making such projects now."
However, the president argued that the previous projects were not just a campaign slogan. "A common problem was identified and then joint work was organized to tackle it. But it was unclear how to do it," he said, commenting on those programs.
As for the current National Projects, Putin stressed that there were "concrete tasks." "We identify the amount of resources, extra resources needed to fulfill these tasks," he said. "We appoint those responsible. We have never had this sort of targeting before," the president added. For instance, in his words, in order to improve life expectancy, earmarked resources were allocated to fight cancer and cardio-vascular diseases, as well as to reduce road deaths and so on.
At the same time, the president pointed to "certain problems arising from the fact that we have national goals and the National Projects as a means of achieving these goals." "We might need to combine these elements. Some colleagues have been calling for this," he said.
"All this is to be arranged and fine-tuned in the process of practical work. We cannot just wait and watch the water flow under the bridge," the head of state added.
National Projects
The key goals of the 12 National Projects and the Comprehensive Plan for Upgrading and Expanding Core Infrastructure were outlined in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s May Decree. They cover healthcare, demographics, education, environment protection, housing and urban environment, road construction, science, the digital economy, labor productivity and employment support, culture, international cooperation and exports, small and medium-sized businesses and support for business initiatives.
The total budget of the National Projects will reach 25.7 trillion rubles ($399 bln) by 2024. More than 13 trillion rubles ($202 bln) will come from federal funds, another 7.5 trillion rubles ($116 bln) from extra-budgetary funds and the remaining 4.9 trillion rubles ($76 bln) from regional budgets.
Episode 3 of the video interview is available at https://putin.tass.ru/en.
