Moscow, Nov 17 (IANS): Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has approved an order to begin a governance reform from January 1, 2021.

The reform had previously been postponed due to a number of reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic, but could no longer be delayed, Xinhua news agency quoted Mishustin as saying on Monday during a meeting with his Deputy Prime Ministers.

He said the structural reform will help build optimization and ensure that every government official commits to clearly defined responsibilities as 20 per cent of positions within ministries are currently vacant.

According to the order, staff within the central administrative office will be reduced by 5 per cent, and within the territorial governments by 10 per cent.

"All these measures will improve the efficiency of the executive branch," Mishustin said.

A special working group will be formed to deal with matters related to the reform procedure.

"The reorganization is planned to be completed by April 1, 2021," he added.

In a recent government reshuffle, President Vladimir Putin signed an order to increase the number of Deputy Prime Ministers from nine to 10.