(VOVworld) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, head of the Steering Committee for new rural development, chaired a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday to review activities in the first 9 months and discuss plans for the remainder of the year.

So far this year more than 500 communes nationwide have met the new rural area criteria, up 327 communes fro, May. Deputy Prime Minister Ninh asked the relevant ministries and agencies to revise new criteria to suit the conditions of each locality to ensure that the program brings practical benefits to people in rural areas.