Minister for Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov presented a report on the Digital Economy programme.
Discussion of the report resulted in a decision to place the Digital Economy programme on the list of priority areas for Russia’s strategic development until to 2018 and the subsequent period until to 2025, and to generally approve the programme as presented.
In view of the discussion, the Government is instructed to further review and approve the programme, paying particular attention to taking into account in its aims and tasks consumer interests; support for developing key cross-cutting digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed registers, robotics, and quantum computing; coordinating the efforts of state agencies and big organisations in the information and communications technology sector to put in place conditions for and take practical decisions in information security in developing the digital economy; and securing the involvement of relevant organisations in developing systems for the remote provision of public services.
The Government, together with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and other relevant organisations shall draft and adopt a legal Government act defining the programme implementation management system.
The Government shall provide support to leading organisations in the digital economy such as Sberbank of Russia, PAO Rostelecom, state-owned companies Rostec and Rosatom, the Skolkovo Fund, and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the non-commercial organisations it establishes, and for selecting skills centres in the different areas of the programme’s implementation.
Instructions to the Government also concern several organisational matters aimed at ensuring day-to-day management of the programme’s implementation, making necessary amendments to existing rules and regulations, drafting work plans for implementing the programme, and determining the mechanisms, sources and amounts of funding for work plans, taking into account work on the 2018 draft budget and the budget plans for 2019 and 2020.
The Government Commission for Using Information Technology to Improve the Quality of Life and Conditions for Business Activities shall ensure general coordination of programme implementation, monitoring and oversight of the action plans.