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Putin urges to make social expenditures more efficient urgently

However, the prime minister outlined several tasks, which should be put on the agenda of a next stage in the development of Russia

MOSCOW, February 13 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian authorities should make the expenditures in the social sector more efficient as much as possible, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in his article, which is published in the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on Monday.

“Amid a sharp decline in the population of the able-bodied age and a growing elder population social expenditures should be urgently made cardinally more efficient,” the prime minister noted. “We just do not have the other way out, if we want to preserve and, moreover, improve qualitatively the current situation,” he said.

Putin recalled that the budget expenditures in the social sphere became to make “more than a half of all budget expenditures” in the last few years and “went up 50% in the absolute figures for the last four years – from 21% to 27% in the share to the GDP.” Thanks to these financial resources, Russia succeeded to improve the situation on the scope of such pressing social issues, as demography, pensions and the containment of poverty, the prime minister pointed out.

However, the prime minister outlined several tasks, which should be put on the agenda of a next stage in the development of Russia.

First of all, this is the work of social lifts. “Many people cannot realize their professional skills, find a job, which make them possible to have a worthy salary, develop and build a career,” Putin wrote down. “This problem became much more acute in the last few years, when most young jobseekers, who enter the labour market, graduated from higher educational establishments,” he remarked.

Secondly, up to now “each eighth Russian citizen still lives under the official poverty line.”

The prime minister considers the quality of social services as the third problem, which should be settled as a priority. “Despite a growing budget financing of the education and health care systems, their low quality persists, the spread of compulsory paid services was not stopped in these spheres. The tasks for the creation of a comfortable living environment are far from being settled,” Putin underlined.