Addressing the first session of the new Russian government earlier in the day, Putin announced plans to form an inner Cabinet, comprising deputy prime ministers and issue-specific ministers.
"Three fifths of the total number of Cabinet ministers will serve as a quorum to adopt decisions," press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Peskov said the new body would act as a coordinating headquarters for specific government departments.
It will include the prime minister, his two first deputies Viktor Zubkov and Igor Shuvalov, and deputy prime ministers Alexander Zhukov, Sergei Ivanov and Igor Sechin.
The other nine members will be: Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, chief of government staff Sergei Sobyanin, Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina, Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, and Regional Development Dmitry Kozak.
"The government presidium will meet on a weekly basis with the participation of issue-specific ministers," Putin said earlier, adding that the 'regular' Cabinet would meet at least once a month.
The development comes amid an ongoing redistribution of presidential and governmental powers following Putin's move from president to prime minister.
