KIEV, Sept. 20 ??“ Ukraine's government has proposed allocating UAH26.8 billion in the 2007 national budget to fund ???innovation and investment??? - almost 50% more than in 2006, Deputy Finance Minister Anatoliy Miarkovsky said Tuesday.

He said the draft 2007 national budget submitted by the government to Parliament last week foresees an eightfold rise in spending on the development of agricultural machinery, from UAH32.6 million in 2006 to UAH283.3 million in 2007; increased spending on the development of domestic aircraft building by over two times, from UAH309.4 million to UAH761.3 million; and doubling spending on the development of the defense sector, from UAH1.094 billion to UAH2.0878 billion.