Ministry of Labor: the government of the Russian Federation approved the procedure for determining the poverty line in the country The corresponding decree appeared on the official Internet portal of legal information. It comes into force on the day of its publication and applies to legal relations that have arisen since January 2021.
The resolution proposed to introduce a new concept in the country – “poverty line”. The poverty line will complement the already existing indicator of the subsistence minimum (SL). The new indicator is supposed to be calculated by multiplying the previous PM value for the quarter by the overall inflation for the corresponding period.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia, the new indicator is introduced solely for statistical purposes and will not affect the size of government support measures for socially disadvantaged strata of the population. The press service of the department added that this approach will allow a more accurate calculation of the level of poverty among citizens.
“The poverty line will be used to assess progress in reducing poverty, and the cost of living – for social support purposes. The decision is vulnerable, but the only correct one of the possible “- the vice-rector of the Higher School of Economics Lilia Ovcharova commented on the introduction of the new indicator to Kommersant.
Earlier, the Central Bank of Russia reported on a record level of debt burden among Russian citizens. The ratio of expenses on payments on loans and disposable income of the population reached 10.24 percent.