"This is the meaning of economic growth": Putin declared the need to improve the living standards of Russians

In 2021, the Russian economy may grow by almost 4%.

This was announced on Monday, July 19, by President Vladimir Putin during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.

As the head of state noted, the crisis consequences were quickly overcome thanks to a responsible and flexible macroeconomic policy, as well as through measures to support business and high-tech industries.

“It is necessary to use such positive trends to improve the living standards of people, because ultimately this is precisely the meaning of economic growth, its key result, and behind all macroeconomic indicators, indicators, one must always see a specific person and his problems,” the Russian leader.

According to the president, unemployment in the country has almost returned to pre-crisis levels and now stands at 4.9%.

Nevertheless, many people still face difficulties finding jobs, Putin said.

Moreover, according to the assessment of the head of state, Russia still has a significant number of unsolved and sensitive problems for citizens.

“This is, first of all, poverty, low incomes of many families, low quality of primary health care, deterioration of school buildings.

As you know, citizens spoke about these and other sensitive issues during a direct line, ”said Vladimir Putin.

Against this background, as the President emphasized, in Russia "it is necessary to increase the pace of changes in the economy."

According to him, we are talking about transformations in the social sphere, development of regions, solving environmental problems and digital transformation of the country.

In particular, the head of state recalled the need to achieve national development goals by 2030.

Let us recall that as part of the implementation of the initiatives, it is planned to increase life expectancy to 78 years, reduce the poverty level by half, achieve GDP growth rates above the world average and ensure a sustainable increase in household income.

According to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, in order to achieve national goals, national projects were also fully adjusted, which should be completed by 2024.

“I would like to note that the level of achievement of indicators of national projects for June this year is 10% higher than last year.

Out of more than 200 indicators, 80% have been achieved, and out of more than 1.2 thousand events, almost 90% have been completed, ”Mishustin said during the meeting.

Helping those in need

One of the main topics of discussion was the issue of poverty reduction in Russia.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, the social treasury system should help in solving the problem.

We are talking about a mechanism for providing social assistance to citizens in an unconditional manner.

The work of the system will increase the targeting of support to Russians in need, Golikova said.

"This approach will help reduce the poverty level in 2023 to 10.9%, in 2024 - to 10.4%, and by 2030 - by half, as provided by national development goals, that is, to 6.5%," - added the Deputy Prime Minister.

Note that the poverty level in Russia has already dropped below pre-crisis levels.

This is stated in a study by the World Bank.

So, from January to September 2020, the indicator rose from 12.3% to 13.3%, but in December it dropped to 12.1%.

Moreover, in 2021 the value may reach 11.4%, the organization predicts.

“Low family income is one of the accumulated problems, although the salaries of the population are now growing.

In this context, direct payments from the state to those in need have become excellent measures in this context, "said Nikita Maslennikov, head of the Finance and Economics department at the Institute of Contemporary Development, in an interview with RT.

As Vladimir Putin recalled, over the past years, the authorities have been creating integral support for families with children.

Thus, payments for children from birth to seven years inclusive are already in effect in the country.

In addition, from July 1, needy pregnant women and single parents with children under the age of 17 can receive monthly payments.

Free hot meals were also organized for more than 7 million schoolchildren.

In addition, in August, Russian families will receive a lump sum payment of RUB 10,000 for each child between the ages of six and 18.

“I will also add that last year over 3.5 million Russian families were able to improve their living conditions.

This result was achieved largely due to a decrease in mortgage interest rates, including for families with two or more children.

And starting this year, as you know, mortgage benefits are also provided to parents who give birth to their first child, ”Putin added.

According to experts interviewed by RT, an increase in business activity should significantly help reduce the level of poverty.

This state of affairs will ensure economic growth and provide additional revenues to the budget, experts say.  

“Together with the growth of the economy, the profit of enterprises also increases. Entrepreneurs are interested in hiring and increasing the income of employees so that they can further help expand the business. At the same time, the taxable base is growing - the state collects more taxes and thanks to this it has more opportunities to help the low-income population, "Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Center for Market Research at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge of the Higher School of Economics, explained in an interview with RT.