PRESS: AI proj developers decide to cut budget funding to 22 bln rbl

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PRIME) -- Authors of Russia’s federal project Artificial Intelligence (AI) are determined to reduce its budget funding till 2024 to 22.4 billion rubles from 89.7 billion rubles planned in early 2020, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday, citing a letter sent by Deputy Digital Development Minister Maxim Parshin to federal authorities.

In early 2020, the project was supposed to consume 125 billion rubles till the end of 2024, including 89.7 billion rubles from the state budget, but now the amount was slashed to 27.7 billion rubles, including 22.4 billion rubles from the state budget.

A source familiar with the process of allocation of funds said that it is not the matter of cutting the budget, but of “changing of an approach to its shaping”, and 22.4 billion rubles is only a central part to be spent on development. Other clauses will be financed from budgets on digitalization of other federal executive authorities.

Experts said that the government’s interest in new technologies is cyclic and can move to other vectors under the pandemic.

(73.2157 rubles – U.S. $1)

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