Tehran, Iran, October 7
By Mehdi Sepahvand –- Trend:
Iran has unveiled what it calls a comprehensive database for rural statistics and information, with the hope to unify and methodize compilation of economic statistics related to rural areas of the country.
The database was unveiled during a congress in Tehran attended by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, Vice President for Rural Development Abolfazl Razavi, Minister of Labor Ali Rabiee, Minister of Education Mohammad Bathaei, and close to 2,000 academicians, dignitaries, and council members from rural areas across Iran, Trend correspondent reported from the event October 7.
The system will combine data periodically provided at national, provincial, and county levels in order to create a fairly reliable set of information to be used by governmental and non-governmental entities.
Speaking to the congress, Jahangiri said water, environment, and unemployment pose the three greatest challenges to Iran’s rural economy.
He noted that last fiscal year, which ended March 20, the government invested $500 million from the National Development Fund to extend water distribution to villages. That year, he added, 2,950 villages were added to villages with water distribution system, equal to the number gained in the preceding 10 years.
According to Jahangiri, in the present fiscal year also $300 million is being invested in water distribution to villages.
The official noted that currently 77 percent of Iranian villagers use natural gas as distributed via the nationwide grid.
The vice president also said that 26,800 villages in Iran are currently connected to the internet.
He said the government has recently considered granting worth 1.2 quadrillion rials (1USD at 33,850 rials) loans to go to investment in rural areas.