Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin demanded on Tuesday that state-controlled companies expedite the introduction of innovation solutions in their manufacturing processes.
"It is necessary to optimize innovation processes in companies, and tie the salaries of the top management to the concrete results of innovative development," Putin said at a government meeting.
Russia considers the development of the high-tech and the innovation sector its top priority and hopes investments will end the country's dependence on raw material exports.
"Innovations are beneficial for companies. Almost all of them work in a highly competitive environment both domestically and abroad, which means they must either modernize and become better than their competitors or lose their place on the market sooner or later," Putin said.
The prime minister said that innovation solutions should be deeply integrated into business strategies of the companies and focus on the effective use of energy resources, productivity and ecology.
"The most important goal is to ensure the output of competitive products and the achievement of technological superiority in their segments," Putin said.
"We must make advanced products to achieve a higher level of production," he added.
At present, Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom spends over 7 billion rubles ($234 mln) annually on research and development, while atomic energy company Rosatom allocates about 6 billion rubles ($200 million) for the same purposes.
RAZVILKA (Moscow region), August 3 (RIA Novosti)
