MOSCOW, March 7 (Itar-Tass) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that meeting social obligations would require up to 1.5 percent of the GDP. "We talked yesterday, and we met at Dmitry Anatolyevich's /Medvedev/ - I believe an extra 1.5 percent of the GDP will be necessary for these efforts," Putin said at a meeting of the government presidium on Wednesday.
It includes such measures as incentives for the third child in a family, bringing social grants at colleges to the minimal subsistence level and increasing the wages of teaching staff at colleges.
Speaking about the third child incentives, Putin underlined that they should be introduced in the regions with a weak demographic situation or negative demographic dynamics.
Furthermore, the support should only be provided to the families with incomes below the regional average. "I do not think that this measure requires much money", the prime minister said stressing that it would be individually-oriented.
According to the premier's proposal, the social grant for students should increase to the minimal subsistence level, which makes up around 5,000 roubles a month.
"This, too, should be individually-oriented support; meant for those who really need assistance and the students who are doing well. Another proposal concerns high wages for teaching staff at colleges. This will require considerable financial resources," Putin acknowledged.
By 2018, college teachers' wages are expected to exceed the average regional wage by two times.
"Together with the public, we must think about how to cut the number of ineffective colleges. The expenditure we'll carry should match the measures to optimize the proper networks and restore order at these institutions, i.e. by economizing. All this should yield a positive effect," Putin said.
Russia is working through a legally binding child adoption agreement with Spain, Israel, Ireland, Great Britain and Slovenia, Putin went on to say.
He reminded that treatment of adopted children in foreign families is sometimes far from ideal.
An overwhelming majority of children find their true kin in new foreign families. But there are tragic cases where children died, Putin said, adding that in his view, it happens because of low requirement for adoptive parents, and a lack of authority for intervening on behalf of the abused child.
"The most effective way to settle the problem is to conclude legally binding international agreements," Putin said. Foreign organizations will have to inform Russia about the fate of the adopted children and his or her adaption to the new life.