The government of the Sverdlovsk region has a new division. Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev signed a decree on the establishment of the Information and Communication Department, which is to develop not only telephone communication and Internet in the region, but also to oversee electronic services. The decree was published today in the "Regional newspaper". Also, the new department will ensure the active inclusion of the Middle Urals in the large-scale work initiated by President Vladimir Putin on digitalization.

After the new department starts working, the regional transport ministry will lose its powers in the sphere of communications. In connection with this, it was renamed the Ministry of Transport and Road Management. In addition, part of the powers will be lost and the Ministry of Economy. The functional of the new department will include the work of the Multifunctional Center for the Provision of State and Municipal Services, it will act as the founder of the MFC.

The head of the new department has not yet been appointed, but according to the source of JustMedia. Ru in the administration of the governor, it will be the acting Deputy Minister of Transport Vasily Starkov Alexey Rukavishnikov, who oversees information technology. Previously, he worked as an e-government operator in the region. The Department will not be subordinate to any of the ministries. According to some reports, it will be controlled by the first vice-governor Vladimir Tungusov.

Recall, on behalf of Vladimir Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation in late July approved the federal program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation". Digitalization, according to the President, will radically change the format of health care, education, public administration, communications between people and set a new paradigm for the development of the state, economy and society. This requires from the region fundamentally new approaches to the development of IT, improving the system of providing public services in electronic form, the introduction of new technologies in various spheres of life and economy, automating the activities of government bodies.

Already today the development of information technologies in the region is an example for other subjects of the Russian Federation. Practical all ministries and departments implement digitalization programs, including those aimed at rendering Sverdlovsk citizens state and municipal services. The creation of a profile department within the government of the Sverdlovsk region is designed to synchronize the processes of informatization of society and to bring this work to a new level.

During a working visit to the Sverdlovsk Region, the head of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation Nikolai Nikiforov highly assessed the IT infrastructure of the region. In particular, the Minister stressed that in the Middle Urals, 97% of residents have access to the Internet, which is significantly higher than the average for Russia, where only about 70% of citizens today actually use high-speed network access services.