Government meeting

Agenda: Adjusting social benefits and entitlements, improving specialist training in agriculture, additional criteria for digital intermediary platforms.

Mikhail Mishustin's opening remarks:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Before we move forward with the agenda for this Government meeting, I would like to mention the adoption of several important decisions.

Over 40 social benefits, entitlements and compensations will increase starting 1 February. They will be adjusted to match last year's consumer price inflation index.

The Government has been doing this annually as instructed by the President. This measure affects millions of people in Russia, including families with children, Heroes of Russia, Heroes of Labour, Great Patriotic War and combat veterans, people with disabilities and others.

This year, the maternity capital benefit for the first child will increase to almost 730,000 roubles, while the same benefit for the second child and subsequent children will reach 963,000 roubles. This increase covers both the newly issued maternity capital certificates and the unused balance from earlier grants. There is also the one-time childbirth benefit, which will now be equal to 28,500 roubles. As for women who receive the Hero Mother title, they will receive 76,500 roubles.

People will not have to file any paperwork for ensuring that all these government support measures are adjusted for inflation. This will be an automatic process. Beneficiaries will receive these payments at the same time as usual.

The next topic deals with training specialists in agriculture.

The President has emphasised that human capital is more than just a comprehensive set of various matters. Today, this is the single most important issue which has fundamental importance for Russia's development.

The Government has drafted the corresponding amendments to four state programmes covering agricultural production and fisheries in all their aspects and taking into consideration the staffing needs in rural areas. In addition, they contain forecasts assessing labour needs for developing agricultural lands and land improvement.

Overall, approximately six million people are employed in Russia's agro-industrial sector. At the same time, the sector needs to attract more than 130,000 additional specialists every year. These must be professionals proficient in new technologies, highly qualified in their fields, and capable of making informed decisions and interpreting data.

I recall our visit to the Golden Autumn exhibition, where representatives of virtually every company spoke about the widespread use of modern information technologies across all areas of agro-industrial development.

A system-wide approach is important here. That is why training specialists must begin at the school level. Last year, more than 1,000 agrotechnology-focused classes were established across Russia. As we agreed, their number should double in the future.

The next step is upgrading secondary vocational education. Starting in 2026, such institutions will receive support through the Agro-Professionalism system.

The Ministry of Agriculture has selected 18 projects from 13 regions, developed jointly with agribusiness partners. Colleges will receive grants that can be used, among other things, to modernise infrastructure, upgrade facilities, and purchase equipment and software.

Of course, we must also more actively help university students acquire practical skills and professional experience. In order to do this, we will expand targeted training mechanisms and involve employers more closely in the education of young specialists.

Another crucial component is advanced training and retraining programmes for those already employed in the sector, including teachers who will lead agricultural technology classes for school students.

We expect that the decisions taken will contribute to the successful implementation of the national project on technological support for food security. They will enable us to continue to reap good harvests and create new jobs in the regions.

Now on to another topic.

The government continues to create conditions conducive to the development of the platform economy. Additional criteria have been approved for including digital services in the relevant register, such as marketplaces, taxi services, grocery delivery platforms, and others.

For example, a minimum average daily audience threshold of 100,000 users has been established for online platforms.

As a reminder, the core criteria were previously defined and approved by federal law and will come into effect this October. We expect that these frameworks will stimulate platform growth, strengthen efforts to combat counterfeit goods, and provide consumers with greater confidence in the quality and safety of products.

The register will be maintained by the Ministry of Economic Development on its official website, creating a unified legal framework for the platform economy across Russia.