Lively conversation: Putin launched preparations for a new direct line

Vladimir Putin instructed the government and the presidential administration to prepare a new direct line. According to him, the work with citizens' appeals to it should be de-bureaucratized. The president stated this during a meeting with members of the government on September 17. The main topic of discussion was the comprehensive plan for the development of transport, energy, telecommunications, social and other infrastructure until 2036. In addition, the President heard reports on the results of admission campaigns to colleges and universities. Vladimir Putin also spoke about a new conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of India

Before the meeting, which was mainly devoted to domestic policy, Vladimir Putin informed the members of the Cabinet of Ministers about a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of India. The President said that he congratulated Narendra Modi on his 75th birthday, wishing him good health, prosperity and further success in his work.

The politicians exchanged views on a number of international issues, including the situation around Ukraine, the Kremlin later said. We also discussed preparations for the Russian president's visit to India in December this year. The last time Putin and Modi met was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit two weeks ago. It was significant that the leaders talked one-on-one for almost an hour in a limousine before the talks as part of the delegations at the SCO summit.

— Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India is pursuing a completely independent, sovereign policy and, most importantly, is achieving very good economic results. India is showing the highest economic growth rates among the world's major economies," Putin said at the meeting.

In response, Modi wrote on social media that India is committed to strengthening its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia and is ready to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

The results of admission campaigns to colleges and universities

Almost immediately, the president proposed to hear a report by Sergey Kravtsov, Minister of Education, on the results of the college admissions campaign. He said that 1.1 million people are enrolled in colleges, which is 200 thousand more than in 2024. In fact, 3.9 million people study at colleges today.

— This figure is comparable to the 1970s in the RSFSR, - said Kravtsov.

The minister also said that a record 3.5 million applications were submitted to colleges and technical schools in the Russian Federation in 2025.

— This is 900 thousand more than last year. That is, we see a serious interest in the secondary vocational education system," he said.

Then Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, took the floor. He said that the established admission figures had been closed by almost 100%.

— According to preliminary data, 904 thousand graduates of schools and colleges have been enrolled in universities, including more than 440 thousand people in budget places, and 464 thousand people on paid admission, — said Falkov.

The preliminary results, according to the minister, show that applicants are much more interested in engineering specialties than before. The number of applicants to areas related to artificial intelligence technologies is growing especially rapidly.

— This year, 619,000 budget places have been allocated to universities at all levels of education. Most of these places, as you instructed, Vladimir Vladimirovich, about 74%, are distributed in the regions," Falkov said.

Achieving such an indicator is very important for the development of the regions, Ekaterina Kharchenko, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, told Izvestia.

— After all, the biggest deficits in the labor market are in the regions. There are 9,000 unsatisfied vacancies in the Kursk Region alone in the current period. And higher education is aimed at the forecast period. And I thank the government, which, on behalf of the president, finally made a national forecast of staffing requirements," she said. — At least for a period of 5-10 years, we will understand who we need.

However, there is still a problem in Russia when students do not know where to go to work after graduation.

— We need to build a logic so that when students go to university, they understand where they will work. And for this, it is necessary to combine the efforts of the state, business and education," Ekaterina Kharchenko explained.

Vladimir Putin also asked Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to report on the situation in specialized universities and colleges. He said that this year 15 applicants applied for one place when applying to medical universities. In total, 50 thousand people were enrolled in specialty programs. 26,000 people enrolled in the residency program, while three people applied for one place. As the minister noted, residents are actively involved in providing medical care during their studies after completing certain training and confirming their knowledge.

Murashko stressed that enrollment in secondary specialized medical education programs has also increased: in five years, the number of places in medical colleges has increased by 60%, and the competition for this area has reached three people per place. 130,000 people were enrolled this year.

Comprehensive infrastructure Development Plan until 2036

Irek Fayzullin, Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, spoke about the results of competitions to create a comfortable urban environment. According to him, the geography of the All-Russian competition for the selection of landscaping projects in 2025 has almost doubled.

— The financing of the competition has been increased fivefold, to 25 billion rubles, and extended until 2030. The Far East has received a separate competition,— Fayzullin said.

After listening to him, the president noted that within the framework of these programs it is not necessary to prevent people from working.

— The initiative is coming from the citizens there, and this is very good. But control over how these 25 billion rubles are spent should still be established. Therefore, I ask you to carefully monitor this and do everything to ensure that we achieve maximum results in the course of this work together with the regions and with the citizens," Putin stressed.

Mikhail Kuznetsov, head of the executive committee of the Popular Front for Russia public movement, spoke about the results of work with citizens' appeals to the program "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin." There are 2.6 million of these requests in total. Work with them needs to be de-bureaucratized as much as possible so that it can be carried out live, Putin noted. And he gave instructions to prepare for the next direct line.

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin concluded the meeting. He said that the comprehensive plan for the development of transport, energy, telecommunications, social and other infrastructure for the period up to 2036 will be updated based on the current needs of Russians.

— The comprehensive document includes about 300 of the most ambitious and strategically important infrastructure projects provided for by industry and federal strategies and national projects. The plan covers a wide range of facilities that directly affect the quality of life of our citizens," he said.

According to him, the document includes transport facilities — more than 4 thousand km of railways, 60 airports, 18 seaports, the construction of more than 2.2 thousand km of highways. Marat Khusnullin also said that the strategy provides for the development of Donbass and Novorossiya, the Far East, and the Arctic. Special attention is paid to the development of agglomeration and support settlements.

Following the meeting, Vladimir Putin instructed to increase to 2 million rubles the one-time compensation payment for "zemstvo" programs in the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions. The Head of State instructed the government to consider the possibility of increasing payments in other regions, taking into account the complexity of working conditions in individual settlements.

In addition, the President ordered the abolition of age restrictions for participation in the Zemsky Teacher and Zemsky Coach programs. According to his instructions, the relevant changes should also provide for participation for those who have recently completed their studies at universities or professional educational organizations, as well as those who have entered educational institutions at their place of residence.

All these measures are aimed at supporting specialists in rural and remote areas, as well as encouraging young professionals to work in remote areas of the country.