Putin Urges Government to Spend Oil Windfall Rationally

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged his government to make sure that funds allocated for priority social programs are spent in a rational way and do not fuel inflation, Associated Press reported.

Russia’s oil-driven 2006 budget, which Vladimir Putin approved Tuesday, envisages a 30-percent hike in spending on education and agriculture and a 60-percent increase in allocations for health care, while spending on new housing would be quadrupled.

MosNews