According to him, in 2003-2007 the share of the poor people will be halved - from 20.6% to 11%.
The monetization of benefits scheduled for the next year will help combating poverty, the vice-premier said in the State Duma which is considering the draft budget in the first reading.
"The draft budget for the next year fully ensures the payment of money compensations," he assured.
According to Zhukov, the 2005 federal budget allocates a sum total of 173 billion rubles for the monetization programme.
According to finance minister Alexei Kudrin, now the incomes of the poor run after inflation. That is why the government should lower inflation as part of the struggle against poverty, Kudrin stressed.
He did not agree with some deputies that the incomes of the poor are being reduced. "This does not correspond to reality. The incomes of all groups of the population are growing," he said in the State Duma when the draft budget was discussed.
At the same time he admitted that differentiation between the most high-income and the most low-income groups is growing. But this does not mean, the minister said, that the incomes of the poor people is being cut. "Simply, the incomes of the poor are growing slower than those of the rich," Kudrin explained.
