This Article is From Jul 19, 2012

Red carpet for foreign delegates rolled up on Finance Ministry's orders

New Delhi: The finance ministry has directed all ministries and departments, not to give advance commitments for bearing the expenses of foreign delegates, coming to attend international seminars in India.

The directive says that the ministries and departments have got into the habit of committing travel and accommodation for overseas delegates, before a nod from the Cabinet Secretary or the Expenditure Secretary.

The directive is terse in its message.

The directive goes on to say, "It has therefore been decided with the approval of the Cabinet Secretary, that no commitment for bearing the travel/accommodation cost of participants from foreign countries for participating in seminars/conferences should be made without the prior approval of the Expenditure Secretary or the Cabinet Secretary, irrespective of the expenditure to be incurred on the seminar/conference."

The Finance ministry announced an austerity drive on May 31, 2012. The government wants to cut its expenditure in order to stick to its fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent outlined in the Budget. While the exact figures could not be ascertained, it is said that the austerity drive could mean a saving of around 100 crore rupees in the current financial year. 

"In the current fiscal there is a tremendous pressure on government's resources. Hence, there is an urgent need of rationalization of expenditure and optimization of resources, with a view to improve the macroeconomic environment," the statement said.

A 10 per cent cut in non-plan expenditure, along with a slew of steps has been announced. International seminars and conferences at five star hotels will not be permitted. A 10 per cent cut in the budgetary allocations for each ministry is also to be exercised.

In these difficult times, the government has clearly realised that cash is king.
 
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