Rostec will cut funding for blockchain development in Russia

In December last year, the Russian authorities sent for revision a roadmap for the development of blockchain technology,developed by Rostec. As a result of the changes, funding for blockchain development has decreased significantly.

The first version of the document was proposed in five yearsallocate more than 85 billion rubles to transfer government information systems to blockchain. At the same time, the economic benefits from the introduction of innovative technologies into public administration were estimated at 1.64 trillion rubles. However, the government considered the provisions contained in the first version of the road map to be inappropriate. 

As a result of the “revision”, Rostec plansspend 28.4 billion rubles on blockchain development by 2024. Of these, only a third – 9.5 billion rubles – will come from the budget and 18.9 billion will be attracted from extra-budgetary funds.

Assessment of economic benefits from the introduction of a newtechnology has also become much more modest in the new document. Now the government expects to receive about 600 billion rubles in taxes and save 500 billion budget rubles. 

The document distributes 650 million rubles for the implementation of the blockchain in the product labeling system, 1.17 billion rubles for healthcare, 475 million rubles for the housing and communal services sector.

A new roadmap is awaiting approval by the Ministry of Communications and the Government Analytical Center.

Rostec, overseeing the introduction of new technologies,explained the decrease in funding by “self-cleaning the market” and a new look at blockchain technology. At the moment, companies for the development of blockchain solutions have not yet been determined, but MegaFon has already expressed its willingness to take responsibility for the housing sector.