Information technology and authority: Priorities of the IT industry were discussed at the first meeting of the Advisory Council

The Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of Russia hosted on October 12, 2012 the first meeting of the Advisory Council for the development of the IT industry.

Opening the meeting, the head of the Ministry of Communications of Russia Nikolay Nikiforov said that the Ministry was ready to make a guide for the IT industry to the whole system of public authorities.

The Council under the Ministry of Communications of Russia was created as an advisory body to produce the first phase of the IT industry recommendations for its development, and then for realization of implemented measures.

Chairman of the Board, Deputy Minister of Communications, Mark Shmulevich, identified the challenges facing the audience, as follows:

"At the Council we will talk about the development of the IT industry as the economy. It is important to understand how to help the industry to maintain and build on the momentum of development, remove barriers to the development of IT companies. We want to achieve results, not just talking. According to the results of the first meeting it will be finalized a draft set of specific areas and measures for the development of the IT industry. This document is developed taking into account the views of various industry segments, not only the people who joined the Board. It will be the basis of the program of action for the development of the Russian Ministry of Communications of the IT industry, which we plan to coordinate with the government".

Another issue under discussion was devoted to the need to promote the IT industry among young people, the prestige of working in IT.

Also there were covered topics of the openness of state databases for IT companies, benefits of tax deductions for companies in the industry, the problems of patenting developments of Russian IT companies abroad.