The cabinet has decided to allocate the amount saved by implementing the gasoline rationing plan to railroad development.

Minister of Roads and Transportation Mohammad Rahmati has predicted that gasoline rationing program will save the country an average of 20 million liters of gasoline ($12 million-$15-million) per day.
Speaking at a ceremony to launch a project to expand Jajroud Bridge on Thursday, the minister stated that the cabinet has decided to allocate the amount saved by implementing the gasoline ration plan to railroad development, Fars reported.
Listing advantages of railroad, he said that this mode of transportation is safer, comfortable and can serve larger number of commuters and reduce fuel consumption.
Rahmati noted that Road and Transportation Ministry is determined to expand country’s railroad network. “If 1,000 kilometers of railroad lines are constructed in the country each year, all provincial capitals will be linked to the railroad network within the next few years.“
Turning to road development, the minister promised that all villages with above 40-50 households will have access to asphalted routes within the next two years.
He stated that the ministry has given second priority to development of freeways and increase their safety in a bid to cut road accidents.
Stressing that road construction projects are currently underway in almost all provinces, Rahmati recalled that 1,400 kilometers of main roads were constructed in the country in the year to March 2007.
“This is double the figures recorded during the Third Five-Year Development Plan (2000-2005),“ he concluded.

Minister of Housing and Urban Development Mohammad Saeedikia stated on Thursday that there are 16 million residential units for 17 million Iranian households.
The minister made the remarks at a ground-breaking ceremony to launch the construction of 50,000 residential units for the Islamic Republic of Iran Housing Cooperatives, ISNA reported.
He cited results of the last population census based on which average population growth stood at 1.6 percent in the past decade. This is while marriage rate was 3.4 percent and above.
The minister recalled that in the early years of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there was a policy that encouraged Iranians to get married and have more children. As a result, there was a baby boom in those years, he noted.
Saeedikia noted that 800,000 new marriages were registered in the country during the year to March 2007. In other words, these 800,000 newly-weds need residential units.
He stressed that at present, the country is facing a shortage of 1.7 million houses not to mention the 800,000 demanded by newly-married couples. He pointed out that a number of houses in old textures of cities also have also to be renovated.
The minister stated that 1.2 million new residential units have to be constructed annually to meet this demand.
Saeedikia predicted that demand for residential units will continue to rise and reach its peak in 2011.
The minister noted that the demand will start to decline after 2011.
Saeedikia stressed that the government is determined to provide constructors with lands to build 1.5 million residential units per year.
He noted that the lands will be given to constructors under a 99-year lease.
Meanwhile, 140-million-rial loans will be given per house to those involved in building residential units.

Iran is currently the world's 23rd zinc producing nation.

A project to construct Middle East’s largest zinc factory has begun in Mahneshan, Zanjan province in a ceremony attended by minister of mines and industries and a number of senior officials.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mohammad Reza Tahmasebi stated that Iran will rank 15th or 17th among zinc producing countries once the factory is commissioned. Iran is currently the world’s 23rd zinc producing nation, IRNA reported.
The minister added that country’s zinc output will reach 250,000 tons per year once the factory becomes operational.
According to schedule, the factory will become operational within three years at a cost of 2,057 billion rials. The factory will create jobs for 500 people and will have the capacity to produce 100,000 tons of zinc per year.
Meanwhile, Tahmasebi also inaugurated two steel and cement factories in Mahneshan.
Some 1,200 billion rials has been invested in Mahneshan steel factory which is expected to produce 500,000 tons of steel ingots per year and create jobs for 1,800 individuals (directly and indirectly).
Mahneshan cement factory which covers an area of 197 hectares will be constructed at a cost of 816 billion rials.
Once operational, the factory will annually produce 250,000 tons of cement for oil wells and 150,000 tons for the construction sector.

Iran Statistics Center has announced that the unemployment rate stood at 10.5 percent this spring, showing a 0.5 percent decline compared to figure for the same period last year.
Center’s head, Mohammad Madad stated that 9.3 percent of men and 15.2 percent women were jobless during March 21-June 21.
The official put the unemployment rate at 13 percent in urban areas and 5.5 percent in the countryside, the Persian daily ’Iran’ reported.
He noted that the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan had the highest unemployment rate with 13.9 percent while the northern province of Golestan had the lowest rate (6.9 percent).
The head of the center stated that unemployment rate in southern Fars province has showed a record decline of four percent reaching 10.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Office of the center announced that the rate decreased by 1.5 percent to reach 12.7 percent in Tehran province this spring compared to 14.2 percent for the same period last year.

Tehran and Ankara are seeking ways of expanding exchanges not only in trade but also in industry, foreign investment and joint ventures in third countries, Head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) Mohammad Nahavandian said.
Speaking to his Turkish counterpart, Nahavandian added that Iran-Turkey ties are of strategic importance, IRNA reported.
He referred to the abundant potential of Iran’s petrochemical industry and said, “We are keen to sell petrochemical materials instead of oil because they bring us value-added, and Turkey can play a good role in transiting them to European countries.“
Nahavandian also pointed to the role of Turkey as a bridge in tripartite cooperation among Pakistan, Iran and Turkey to restore the Silk Road for energy transit.
Earlier in a meeting with the head and board of Turkish Tourism union and companies involved in the field on Wednesday, he called for preparing grounds for visits by Turkish people to Iran.
Iran, he noted, gives priority to religious and health tourism.
Given that Turkish people are mostly Muslims, and there are numerous religious sites in Iran, he called on tourism companies of the two countries to facilitate such tours.
“Iran enjoys has advanced medical equipment and low-cost healthcare,“ he said, adding, “Turkish nation can make use of such potentials.“
Underlining the need for boosting tourism infrastructure in Iran, he called on Turkey to help Iran in this regard particularly in constructing hotels, establishing amusement camps, and building ports and airports.

Social development covers the improvement of living standards in sectors such as health, housing, education, employment, national income and social security.

Social change or social development is the change in social behavior or social relations of a society. In general, it covers the improvement of living standards in sectors such as health, housing, education, employment, national income and social security.
Social development process is not the same for different countries. Some social changes take place almost always and different theories have been put forward to explain the significance of social changes. Development can continue constantly since human beings with different unknown potential capabilities live in a society.
Social development is inseparable from economic growth and development. In fact, they mutually reinforce relationship between economic growth and social well being.
Economic progress contribute to greater social justice, respect for human rights, better education, and active participation of all sections of the society. In turn, social progress facilitates better health and schooling services as well as increase in productivity and economic growth. As a result, policy-makers not just focus on material needs of humans but also consider the people’s all-out needs comprehensively. Although economic development strengthens other types of development, Riche Nancy, a prominent Canadian socialist, believes that economic and social development ’are two sides of the same coin’. This definition emphasizes the relation of two types of development.

Social Development Indicators
At the World Summit for Social Development held in March 1995 in Copenhagen, governments reached a consensus on the need to put people at the center of development. The Social Summit was the largest gathering ever of world leaders at that time. It pledged to make the conquest of poverty, the goal of full employment and the fostering of social integration overriding objectives of development. The agreement signed by 117 countries later became known as ’Copenhagen Declaration’.
The following are some parts of the declaration:
- The goals and objectives of social development require continuous efforts to reduce and eliminate major sources of social distress and instability for the family and for society. We pledge to place particular focus on and give priority to the fight against conditions that pose severe threats to the health, safety, peace, security and well-being of the people. To this end, coordination and cooperation at the national level and especially at the regional and international levels should be further strengthened.
- Countries with economies in transition, which are also undergoing fundamental political, economic and social transformation, require the support of the international community.
- The negative impact on development of excessive military expenditures, arms trade, and investment for arms production and acquisition must be addressed.
- Establishing a people-centered framework for social development to guide the countries, to build a culture of cooperation and partnership, and to respond to the immediate needs of those who are most affected by human distress is necessary.
Five years later, they reconvened in Geneva in June 2000, to review what was achieved, and to commit themselves to new initiatives.

Factors of Social Development
There are some factors influencing social development in different countries. These include:
A) Health and Cure: The highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and overall access to basic healthcare is important.
B) Education: Nations’ commitment to promote access for all to education, information, technology and know-how as essential means for enhancing communication and participation in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life, and ensure respect for their rights are also essential.
C) Employment: Productive employment and enhancement of social integration should be considered by the governments.
In less-developed countries with high population, governments are not successful in creating enough jobs.
It is followed by other social difficulties like poverty, corruption and social deviations.
D) Population and Family Planning: Strengthening institutions which enhance social integration, recognizing the central role of the family and providing it with an environment that assures its protection and support is another essential factor. It is necessary to recall that various forms of the family exist in different cultural, political and social systems.
E) National Income Distribution: Promoting more equitable and enhanced access to income and resources is one of the critical obligations of governments. Unjust distribution of national income will cause separation of social classes. In this model, rich countries are encouraged to help those with low-income.
F) Social Security Plans: Strong social welfare and security programs will help betterment of economic situation for the deprived classes of the society. Social security cannot be briefed in one or two executive plans and needs comprehensive programming by the governments.
Some experts believe that spiritual development is not apart from social development. Therefore, they emphasize on spiritual advancement of human beings, promotion of ethical values, and social justice, while discouraging arrogance, selfishness, avarice, extravagance and waste.

Social Development in Iran
Iran is experiencing a great impact on social development. International statistics show that a low developed status before the 1979 Islamic Revolution has now changed in to a moderate or a higher developed. In addition, the gap between the provinces decreased notably. Government’s attempts to eradicate poverty and unemployment as well as supporting social security have helped development of social conditions in recent years.
President Ahmadinejad introduced ’Justice Shares’ for the lower-income classes of the society. On November 12, 2006, his cabinet approved of increasing Iranian households’ wealth by expanding the cooperative sectors’ share through justice shares distribution scheme. According to the approval, individuals included in the two lowest decimal groupings of income classification who qualify for receiving Justice Shares with priority of first degree will be subjects of the plan.
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance was responsible for implementing the plan. It is expected that future policies of the government help reduce the gap between classes and make Iran a model country in the region. To achieve this, people’s cooperation with the government is necessary.