Russia Pledges 10% of Budget to Innovation

In a meeting of the Government Commission on High Technology and Innovation last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin made several announcements in support of new technology and innovation investments. Putin said $37.3 billion, or more than 10 percent of the federal budget, is appropriated for fundamental and applied science, higher education, high-tech medicine, space exploration, aviation, and the nuclear industry in 2010. The Finance Ministry and Economic Development Industry also will consider introducing tax incentives for innovation and providing innovative companies priority access to government purchases. Putin also announced the establishment of the Department of Science, High Technology and Education within the Government Executive Office to identify ways of removing administrative barriers for innovative businesses and to craft policies to attract capital for research and high-tech projects. Read the transcript: http://www.government.gov.ru/eng/gov/priorities/docs/9605/