Kazakhstan to spend $500 million on information policy

Kazakhstan will spend $500 million in 3 years on the country’s information policy, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev as saying at the Government meeting on August 27. “The total amount of 73 billion tenge ($500 million) is set aside for state information policy; this is 24.4 billion tenge ($166 million) a year. These funds will be used for implementation of the state information policy through newspapers and magazines, TV and radio, websites Bnews.kz and Baq.kz, and in particular through the new TV channels Bilim, Novosti-24, Mir-24. They will also be used to launch new TV programs: Vremya Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Time) and Voskresnoe Vremya Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Sunday Time) on ORT-Eurasia TV-channel, procure Kazakhstan-made TV shows on El arna and Khabar TV-channels, monitor traditional media and Internet websites to ensure their compliance with the legislation of Kazakhstan and to parform other activities,” Zhamishev said. 57 billion tenge ($388 million) are planned for development of digital TV broadcasting in Kazakhstan in 2012-2014. The funds are expected to be allocated for creation and development of inter-state gateway for information exchange (National segment of Integrated Information System of External and Mutual Trade of the Customs Union) between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. 2.4 billion tenge ($16 million) are expected to be spent for this purpose. “The funds will be allocated to enhanse interaction of inter-state and inter-authority information systems to establish a data exchange between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus,” the Finance Minister explained.