Putin on ASI's digital platform for entrepreneurs' appeals: “It's going not so easy…”

First results of ASI strategy implementation: “quantum key distribution” and exoskeletons

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the supervisory board of the Agency of Strategic Initiatives on 18 September, where the first results of the implementation of the new ASI strategy for 2019-2021 were considered, including the creation of a digital platform for working with entrepreneurs' appeals and a platform for sharing best practices of socio-economic development. Let us remind that the instructions on the development of such projects were given by Putin following the results of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the address to the Federal Assembly in 2019.

Before the meeting, Putin had visited the exhibition area of innovative projects in key areas of ASI — education, medicine, urban and technological development, organized by the Agency of Strategic Initiatives. He was shown, for example, a quantum key distribution device that enables to receive a single secret key in two remote points from each other, thereby transmitting encrypted information.

The Russian leader was also shown a programme to support public initiatives for the development of urban spaces — 100 Urban Leaders — and the projects of the National technological initiative New Business: exoskeletons for medical rehabilitation and industrial use; a platform that reduces the time of commissioning of the information infrastructure of large companies, etc.

Putin: “I see nothing dangerous here for the law enforcement sphere”

Finally, they presented the algorithm of the digital platform for processing entrepreneurs' appeals — the one that he instructed to develop at the St. Petersburg forum. Judging by the comments of the president at the meeting of the ASI council, he did not like the platform very much, however, he insisted on its implementation. In his opinion, with its help businessmen could report pressure on them from law enforcement agencies. He promised to make sure that the system was implemented, but in a “more perfect form or some other really functioning form”.

“I see nothing dangerous here for the law enforcement sphere, except one — to make work of all law enforcement system more effective, meeting requirements of today, providing interests of society as a whole: both separate citizens and business community as a whole,” the president of the Russian Federation declared.

At the exhibition of ASI projects, the proposals for the creation of a digital platform had already been presented, but they did not satisfy him.

“It’s not going so easy. I decided not to comment during the tour around the exhibition. I know the reaction of some of my colleagues to these proposals...,” so Putin commented on the result of the ASI's work during several months.

The platform is still to be finalized by November 15, the ministry of internal affairs has already drawn up regulations

ASI Director General Svetlana Chupsheva in her report assured the president that the agency would develop the digital platform by 15 November and agreed that it was necessary. All surveys that ASI conducted this year have shown that the main problems for most entrepreneurs today is the pressure of supervisory authorities and administrative pressure.

The platform will help to neutralize these risks and systematically solve problems, she believes. For this purpose, ANO has already been established, which in the future should become the operator of this platform, the board of directors of which is headed by President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin. Chupsheva said about the positive reaction in the regions. In order for this platform to work, it is necessary that all supervisory and law enforcement agencies develop regulations. So far, only the ministry of internal affairs has developed and approved its regulations — ASI has remained satisfied with them, it “has met the expectations”.

Speaking about this platform, Putin noted that it is necessary to create an environment for “a powerful technological development”. But for this, he admitted, it is necessary to remove legal and other barriers for domestic companies and start-ups. The national leader promised to formulate instructions to the relevant departments following the meeting with representatives of the best companies participating in the ASI developments — participants of the National technology initiative. However, according to Vladimir Putin, ASI should more actively offer effective tools of direct and constant feedback not only specifically with business but also with people in general, in particular, taking into account the requests of citizens for the improvement of cities.

ASI's work is necessary for “technological sovereignty of the country”

In addition to the “business platform”, the president was also interested in new forms of education, such as mutual training of human and artificial intelligence: such a transitional model of development in the field of education, he believes, “can lead to completely unexpected and large-scale results”.

In general, the work of ASI is necessary, he said, to form the “technological sovereignty of the country”. Putin asked the agency to more actively launch new socially significant projects related, in particular, to the development of social entrepreneurship.

“It concerns including training programmes and employment of older people, the spread of experience of organising long-term care for the sick and elderly citizens, as well as the development of guidance and additional education of teens, creating a modern infrastructure for children's recreation,” he said.

Children's camps of Russia to be reconstructed within PPP — for 130 billion rubles

In response, Svetlana Chupsheva told that today only a third of Russian children is covered by children's recreation, and only 10% — suburban recreation, due to obsolete infrastructure of the camps and unavailability of vouchers (for low-income and not just families). She asked for 130 billion rubles for a five-year PPP programme, 50% of which should be provided by private owners. She particularly noted the work of Sberbank and Vnesheconombank in this direction.

It is assumed that the business will benefit from the reconstruction of children's camps. I the project can be made federal, then 40 regions can completely reconstruct the infrastructure of children's suburban recreation. By the way, the initiative to restore abandoned pioneer camps with the help of public-private partnership has recently been discussed in Kazan.

There was a lot of talks about businesses at the meeting. Thus, the ASI has been tasked with increasing productivity and introducing innovations in the company. This should give an additional 1,5% of GDP. But for full participation in innovative projects, the business itself believes, it is necessary to support from the state, in particular, in addressing the issues of venture investment at the next, after the “seed”, stage. And there should be help with foreign policy support and exports: it is difficult for small companies to enter the world market.

In general, the president of Russia believes that today the Agency of Strategic Initiatives is a “unique library of management decisions” that can and even should be distributed to all regions of the country and go with them to the international level, exchanging management experience with other countries. At the moment, ASI in a number of areas already packs system solutions of individual regions into “transmittable solutions” that can be used by other subjects of the Russian Federation. In total, there are 78 successful solutions in the database — from social sphere, health and housing to urban improvement and mortgage solutions for housing and communal services; 56 subjects are already using these successful management solutions. Among them, there are practices of Tatarstan under the aegis of the Tatarstan ministry of economy, for example, the Single Crediting Centre, created by the team of Tatarstan Guarantee Fund and the project Proverenny Biznes on the issues of interaction between businesses and regulators.

70% of children have decided to stay to study in the regions thanks to kvantoniums

Meanwhile, at the meeting they noted that due to, for example, the creation of an ecosystem to involve children in the technical and digital education, a lot of kvantoniums in different regions have been built, through which passed 80,000 children. According to ASI, if a year ago surveys showed that 70% of children intended to leave the regions for education in federal universities, now 70% are ready to stay in the regions.

Speaking of education, Chupsheva spoke about the need for the development of the project School-2025 on the abolition of a number of the construction directives and rules that do not allow to reconstruct and complete the existing schools. Because of the demographic boom, she warned, in 2 years there is going to be 18 million children in Russia, and the construction of new schools will not solve the problem of general education: it is necessary to reconstruct the existing ones, increasing the capacity of schools twofold.

We would also add that it has been proposed to approve the head of VEB. RF Igor Shuvalov as the chairman of the expert council of ASI and include Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin in the council (the capital has taken the first place in the national ranking of ASI on social projects and digital solutions this year). Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov is already a member of the ASI supervisory board along with Putin, and Tatarstan has taken the second place in the ASI rating this year.