The Government’s forecast of a 10.8% reduction in poverty in 2020 is unrealistic, the Accounts Chamber reported.
According to the auditors, the new social support policies proposed by the President might not be enough to pull 1 mio Russians out of poverty this year, RBC writes. This means the Government’s poverty reduction forecast is overstated.
The President’s new social initiatives will require RUR 4 trn ($60.2 bln) until 2024. The targeted benefits program for families with children aged between 3 and 7 and incomes below the subsistence level can help reduce poverty, the experts say. The new benefit for the birth of a couple’s first child will also play a significant role. These measures will reduce poverty in the country, but not as significantly as the official forecast says.
The Ministry of Economic Development previously projected that the poverty level will drop to 12.5% by the end of 2019 – a very slight decrease from 12.6% in 2018. In reality, according to the Federal State Statistics Service figures for January-September 2019, poverty in Russia increased, if anything.