The authorities must consider improving the maternity capital program, but it cannot be wasted on unimportant things, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The head of state spoke at the first meeting of the Council on Demographic and Family Policy.
He noted that the idea of maternity capital itself turned out to be very successful.
"You know, this idea once occurred to me and to my colleagues in the government with whom I worked at the time, and it turned out to be very successful," the Russian leader explained.
The President called for consideration of improving this mechanism, recalling that the authorities are supporting payments and indexing them.
"But I just ask you to think about one thing: the desire to use maternity capital to address various issues—and there are always many issues, especially for families with children—countless, as they say. But the most important thing is not to waste it on unimportant things. People are different, with different goals and different interests. I don't want it to disappear. We must protect the interests of children and women above all," Putin said.