Subsidies for installing Russian software unlikely, govt to support demand in nonfinancial ways - digital development minister

ST. PETERSBURG. June 23 (Interfax) - The Russian government is unlikely to be able to support the installation of Russian information technology solutions with budget subsidies or soft loans in the current macroeconomic situation, so nonfinancial means will be used to stimulate demand, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev said.

"I can honestly say that some kind of subsidies or preferential loans for the installation of Russian solutions are unlikely in the current conditions. But we have other means, nonfinancial ones," Shadayev said at the IT breakfast at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Saturday.

One such way is the requirement to install domestic solutions on important critical information infrastructure (CII), not just for state agencies and state companies, but also for private organizations. This is stipulated in a previously passed law, Shadayev said.

"The law has now been passed. I believe this is the most powerful instrument for stimulate demand [for Russian IT solutions]," he said.

"Now for each sector the government will approve a list of standard important objects of CII and businesses will no longer be able to ignore this requirement [to install Russian solutions], they will be required to classify [as important CII]. Moreover, we will introduce administrative liability for violation of the classification procedure," Shadayev said.

He recalled that the government will set a deadline for switching to Russian solutions for every standard important object of CII. The deadline will be determined for each category of objects and for each sector depending on the availability and maturity of Russian solutions.