NOVO-OGAREVO, April 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to provide direct gratuitous state assistance to small and medium-sized businesses in the amount of 12,130 rubles ($162) per employee.

"In addition to the support measures that are already being taken I propose providing small and medium-sized companies of the affected sectors with direct gratuitous financial assistance from the state," Putin said at a meeting with members of the government.

"The amount of support for a particular company will be calculated taking into account the total number of its employees as of April 1 of this year, proceeding from an amount of 12,130 rubles per employee per month, "Putin stated.

The head of state stressed that applying for such assistance should be simple and convenient for businesses. It should also be technically possible to apply for the assistance remotely, without queues and rush.

"I instruct the government to ensure that such a request can be submitted within a month, starting on May 1," he said.

The head of state stressed that the only prerequisite for companies to receive such assistance is to preserve not less than 90% of the staff as of April 1. He added that if this requirement is met, financial support for April will be credited to a company account starting on May 18, and funds for May will be transferred in June.

New economic support measures

The government should start preparing new measures to support the economy, Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

"The situation is changing dynamically. I request the government together with regions and business associations to assess efficiency and sufficiency of undertaken measures on a going basis," the head of state said. "It is obvious that new solutions will be required, for the economy on the whole and for individual sectors," Putin noted.

"Such decisions should be developed already now, consolidating required resources," the head of state said.

"In general, concerning each basic and backbone sector of the economy, my request is to promptly work out and present a specific action plan, including as regards support of import substitution programs in the industry," Putin added.