On February 3, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on the State Program "Year of Support for Youth and Strengthening Public Health" worth  29.5 trillion soums, 2.6 billion dollars and 57.3 million euros to be contributed for its implementation (in 2020 - 18.2 trillion soums and 10.3 billion dollars). 

Business

To support businesses in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the validity period is extended until December 31, 2021 of:

• deferrals for payment of land and property taxes for businesses in the field of tourism, transport and restaurants (cafes, canteens) as of January 1, 2021 (by 400 billion soums for 20 thousand enterprises);
• suspend penalties on property and land tax arrears to businesses in temporary difficulties as of December 31, 2020, as well as the requirement to not apply the measures of enforced collection of tax arrears provided for in the presidential decree of March 19, 2020;
• the interest-free deferral (installment plan) of the balance of property tax and land tax as of December 31, 2020, provided by the pandemic period;
• a moratorium on tax audits of small businesses that pay taxes and other mandatory payments on time, with the phased introduction of the “risk analysis” system during tax audits to reduce the share of the “shadow economy”.

Procedure for free sale of silver by Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Complex through exchange trading to jewelry manufacturers will be introduced from March 1.

Higher education

Starting from the 2021/2022 academic year, 200 presidential scholarships will be granted for those who score the maximum points in the university entrance exams.

The practice of providing an educational loan to families with two or more children enrolled in universities on a contract basis, and its repayment after graduation will be introduced.

The program instructed to provide targeted resources to banks for loans at the expense of the state budget.

T he number of scholarships for higher education will increase by 25%, scholarships for girls from needy families - by 2 times. A system of granting scholarships to private higher educational institutions will also be introduced.

A new procedure for granting academic leave is being introduced.

From September 1, the powers to award scientific degrees and scientific titles will be gradually transferred to the scientific councils of universities.

Starting from April 1,:

• the number of young people sent to study for master's and doctoral studies to prestigious foreign universities through the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation (49 people were sent in 2019) will increase by 5 times;
• 100 young people will be sent in 2021 for bachelor degree programs abroad through El-Yurt Umidi Foundation;
• the practice will be introduced of conducting regular selection of candidates for all citizens of Uzbekistan, regardless of their place of work and residence, according to the educational programs of El-Yurt Umidi Foundation on the basis of an open competition for scholarships;
• a procedure will be introduced for holding a scholarship competition for undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs based on applications from prestigious foreign educational, scientific or other institutions.

Public health and social protection

From July 1, nurses will be allowed to independently engage in nursing on a self-employment basis.

By the end of 2021, 900 orphans-graduates of orphanages in need of housing will be provided with houses.

This year, it is planned to build 22 preschools, 31 schools, 16 higher educational institutions, 24 health care facilities and 23 sports facilities.

Children's Support Fund is being created to assist in obtaining education and finding a profession for children in need of social support, treating children suffering from serious illnesses, to which 100 billion soums will be contributed from the state budget.

The following practice to support persons with disabilities is expected to be introduced by June 1:

• transition of the practice of providing the needy population with prosthetic and orthopedic products and rehabilitation and technical means for the system of issuing a certificate with the creation of an opportunity to purchase prosthetic and orthopedic products and rehabilitation and technical means of their choice from any manufacturer at the expense of funds provided by the state;
• assignment of disability for an indefinite period to a citizen recognized as a disabled person with anatomical defects that have clear signs of disability, without additional examination to obtain clinical and functional information.

Reducing poverty

Families with unemployed members:

• will be allocated land plots from 0.1 to 1 hectare, including from improved, dry, unused land areas, for farming;
• the allocated land will be provided with an irrigation system (artesian wells, drip irrigation system, etc.) and electric energy;
• will be allocated subsidies for the development of the land provided (plowing land, purchasing seeds, seedlings, etc.).

By April 1, it was instructed to develop a draft presidential decree on the introduction of a system of assistance to families in need for farming based on the possibilities and areas of development of each district.

In addition, the practice of allocating subsidies to the unemployed of up to 7 million soums for the acquisition of equipment, working tools necessary to start an activity.

Tourism

From March 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022, as part of the promotion of domestic tourism, a mechanism will be introduced to reimburse part of the following travel expenses in Uzbekistan:

• for air carriers - 25% of air ticket fare for local routes;
• for tour operators and travel agents - 15% of the air and railway tickets fares for, as well 10% of the cost of accommodation services (hotel services). At the same time, reimbursement of part of these costs is provided subject to at least one overnight stay in accommodation facilities located in the provinces to which the trip was made.

Demonopolization of the energy market

The customs duty on import of liquefied gas and permits required for import will be canceled.

By June 1, it was instructed to develop a "road map" for the formation of a wholesale market for manufacturers and importers by introducing market mechanisms in the field of supplying electricity and natural gas.

Starting from August 1, large enterprises should be granted the right to purchase electricity and natural gas on an import basis.

Customs

From July 1, the following customs control procedure will be established:

• stage-by-stage organization of “e-declaration customs posts” as an experiment;
• remote management of customs clearance processes, drastic reduction of human factor interference;
• implementation of the practice of general online control by digitalizing the processes of registration of carriers, checking documents, collecting payments for services rendered to them by veterinary and phytosanitary authorities at the border.

Improving governance

This year, it was instructed to introduce, as an experiment, the procedure for contributing of at least 5% of budget expenses for one district (city) in each province, taking into account the opinions of citizens on solving problems in the mahalla, paying special attention to the issues of supporting youth and improving the public health.

In 2021, the number of civil servants will be cut by an average of 15%.

By March 1, a draft presidential decree will be developed, providing:

• reduction of overlapping departments, functions and bureaucratic barriers in management, excessive number of meetings;
• revision of work processes by transferring some state functions to the private sector, reducing licenses and permits, automating the process of their issuance;
• simplification of decision-making processes in the activities of ministries and departments;
• introduction of a planning system in each province, city, village and makhalla.

As part of the radical improvement of the activities of the middle and lower level management bodies, it is planned to:

• improve the efficiency of governance in province, district, city and mahalla, the number of employees and the size of their wages shall be set, taking into account the specifics of the province and the scope of work;
• introduce a clear system of training managers and lower-level employees to work effectively on the basis of new trends and ITs, as well as continuous enhancing of their skills.

By the end of 2021, it was instructed to reduce unnecessary regulations to reduce the regulatory burden and the degree of regulation of doing business by revising existing acts, including the abolition of outdated documents and systematization of scattered acts.

Until July 1, it was instructed to establish the practice of preparing and making decisions by mayor’s offices exclusively through a special electronic system "E-Qaror (e-Decision)" (over the past two years, over 2500 decisions of mayors were canceled in courts).

Transparency of financial data

From May 1, the publication of the following financial data in the media and on the Internet will begin:

• income and expenses of off-budget funds of state bodies;
• purchases by legal entities with a state share in the authorized capital of 50 percent or more, as well as legal entities, 50 or more percent of the authorized capital of which they own;
• the size and recipients of government subsidies and grants.

E-Anti-Corruption

The Anti-Corruption Agency will implement the E-Anti-Corruption project, which provides for the formation of an Electronic Register of relations susceptible to corruption, based on the results of consideration of proposals made by government agencies and organizations to eliminate corruption-generating factors, in-depth analysis in term of areas and industries, as well as conducting public surveys.

Reduction of red tape

The Ministry of Justice was instructed to submit within a month a draft presidential decree aimed at drastically reducing bureaucratic obstacles in relations between the public and businesses with government agencies, providing for:

• expanding the range of public services available to citizens regardless of their place of registration (permanent or temporary);
• introduction of a single identification number confirming the identity of a citizen in the provision of state, social and other services;
• unification of the processes of state registration of legal entities;
• elimination of the practice of submitting documents in paper form by establishing electronic document flow between government agencies and organizations;
• establishing the practice of communicating the results of the provided public services to citizens and entrepreneurs through the postal service;
• introduction of the experience of Karshi to ensure the delivery of services rendered through the centers of state services to each family on the principle of “center - makhalla - citizen”.

Road safety

It is planned to introduce a system for technical inspection of cars based on the principle of extraterritoriality and to abolish the requirement for a technical inspection of a new motor vehicle.

In one of the registration and examination departments (offices) of the cities of Tashkent and Nukus, as well as provincial centers for state registration of cars and issuing state license plates to them, a system for the provision of these services will be introduced, regardless of the territory of registration of citizens at the place of permanent residence.

In all registration and examination departments (offices), as well as in at least 20 public service centers, registration (including replacement or issue of a new one instead of a lost one) of a national driver's license will be carried out regardless of the place of permanent residence of citizens.

The public will be able to observe the process of taking the exam by applicants for a driver's license, including via the Internet.

Pedestrian crossings will be provided with modern traffic lights in stages.

Protection of Nature

The moratorium on cutting down valuable species of trees and shrubs that are not part of the state forest fund has been extended until December 31, 2021.

At the same time, an obligation is introduced to plant 10 large seedlings as compensation for each felled tree and shrub, which are not inferior in value to felled trees and shrubs, as well as caring for them for at least two years, and for illegally felled trees and shrubs - by planting 100 seedlings with the condition of caring for them for three years.

Additionally, a system of incentives is being introduced for citizens who have identified or prevented illegal felling of trees and shrubs.