MOSCOW, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Revenues of Russia's information technology (IT) sector rose 17 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said Wednesday.

From January to June, income from goods and services in Russia's IT industry reached 5.5 trillion rubles (70.8 billion U.S. dollars), said Grigorenko, who is also the Chief of the Government Staff.

"The IT industry is developing well and occupies an important position in the national economy," he said, noting that taxes and social insurance contributions paid by IT companies increased 20 percent to exceed 1 trillion rubles (12.9 billion dollars) during the period.

During the six-month period, the number of people employed in the IT industry grew by 3 percent year-on-year, reaching 3.1 percent of total social employment, said Grigorenko.

Investment by the IT industry in non-financial assets rose 16 percent to 390 billion rubles (5 billion dollars) in the first half, helping expand and modernize infrastructure, he said, which has a positive impact on the quality and scale of services provided. ■