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On March 14, Kaluga Region’s Governor Anatoly Artamonov presented his report on the results of 2013 and targets for 2014 to the regional Legislative Assembly.

Gross regional product, with is a comprehensive indicator of the region’s economic development, reached an estimated RUR 314 billion, gaining 5.1% to the previous year. Industrial output growth exceeds the national average. The industrial production index reached 107.5%. The value of shipped products exceeded RUR 470 billion. Enterprises of the military industrial complex, which for many years experienced difficulties due to instability in orders, increased their shipped product volumes by almost 20%.

The volume of foreign investments increased by 21% and reached USD 1,329 million in 2013. More than half of the amount is direct investments, i.e. capital invested in the real economy. The national rating agency gave Kaluga Region the highest grade for investment attractiveness. “We are continuing to form and develop a diversified economy based on high-tech production”, commented the governor.

In 2013, many new production facilities were commissioned, including 13 large industrial plants built with participation of national and foreign capital. The newly commissioned plants alone created 4,000 new jobs.

High economic growth rates are only possible in a free entrepreneurial environment. Last year, financing of small business development programs increased to RUR 296 million, with more than half allocated from the regional budget.

More than 500 small and medium businesses, including 82 innovations companies, received support in the form of subsidies, micro credits, grants, security and guarantees. As a result, more than 700 jobs were created and 4,000 secured. Kaluga Region established the institution of the Entrepreneur Commissioner. The World Bank’s Doing Business rating named Kaluga the best Russian city by ease of new business registration. In the next five years, development of small and medium businesses will become a priority for all levels of regional authorities.

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development gave a high appraisal to the regional program “Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Biomedicine”, which will receive over RUR 93 million from the federal budget.

In 2013, a total of RUR 1,183 million was allocated as subsidies for development of priority directions in agriculture.

A program for the creation of one hundred automated dairy farms was adopted. It is planned to allocate over RUR 860 million for its implementation from the regional budget, and recruit over RUR 1 billion from non-budget sources.

In the past year, the regional budget received RUR 38.1 billion in revenues, with consolidated revenues reaching RUR 51.2 billion.

The consolidated budget’s own revenue base increased by RUR 1 billion, or 2%.

Full report of Kaluga Region’s Governor Anatoly Artamonov