Tighten your belts – there is no money – Expenditure Department wants a cut in Government spending
The Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry wants the Government Departments to spend less as there is a financial crunch. There has to be a mandatory 10 per cent cut in non-plan expenditure for:-
a) Overtime Allowance (except in the case of industrial establishments where OTA is granted due to statutory obligations)
b) Domestic and Foreign Travel expenses
c) Publications
d) Professional Services
e) Advertising and Publicity
f) Office expenses
g) POL
h) Other administrative expenses
No ostentatious and unnecessary expenditure: All Government offices under the Central Government shall make every effort to avoid ostentatious and unnecessary expenditure. Day-to-day functioning shall be managed with utmost economy in operating expenses which shall be confined to the minimum essential in areas such as maintenance of buildings, office equipment, transport, communication, conservancy, stationery, furniture, hospitality and furnishings at the offices/offices at residences, etc.
Seminars and Conferences: Utmost economy must be observed in organizing Conferences/Seminars/ Workshops, etc. The prescribed expenditure ceilings for holding such events should be enforced and a 10% cut on the budgetary allocation for seminars and conferences shall be effected. Only such Conferences/ Seminars/ Workshops which are absolutely necessary may be held.
Domestic and Foreign Travel: It has been decided that Ministries/Departments shall lay down quarterly or half yearly ceilings, based on the annual budget under these heads, which they may not exceed during the quarter or half-year in question. This will enable Ministries/Departments to prioritize and phase out their expenditure during the whole of the year.
Rush of expenditure towards the end of the financial year continues to be an area of concern. As per extant instructions, not more than one-third (33%) of the Budget Estimates may be spent in the last quarter of the financial year.
In addition to these instructions, the Cabinet Secretary has instructed all Secretaries that:-
(i) As far as possible, Ministries/ Departments will use our Missions abroad to represent our interest instead of deputing officers from India . Facilities of video conferencing may be used effectively so that all avoidable visits abroad are indeed avoided. Every proposal for foreign travel must be supported by reasons explaining why these alternatives cannot be availed of.
(ii) Departments which undertake foreign travel relatively more frequently should negotiate bulk travel discounts with travel agents. Also wherever possible, excursions/ concessional tickets should be bought even if this means sacrificing some flexibility that comes with full fare tickets.
(iii) Where travel is unavoidable, it may be ensured that officers of the appropriate level dealing with the subject are sponsored, instead of those at higher levels as these results in increase in the cost.
(iv) The size of the delegations should be kept as small as possible No delegation for foreign travel should exceed five members nor should the duration exceed five days. In cases where these numbers have to be exceeded due to unavoidable reasons, the matter may be placed before the Screening Committee of Secretaries giving detailed justification, irrespective of whether the proposal is required to come to the Screening Committee of Secretaries for approval as per the present guidelines.
(v) Separate guidelines also exist in regard to travel abroad of Ministers and Secretaries at the same time, particularly during Parliament session. These also need to be complied with without any laxity.
(vi) In accordance with the austerity instructions issued by the Finance Ministry on 5th June 2008, Ministries/ Departments are to lay down quarterly or half yearly ceilings under the head of foreign travel. Ministries/ Departments shall report the results of this exercise (after carrying out the 10% cut) to the Department of Expenditure. All future Screening Committee proposals will be processed keeping these ceilings in view.
(vii) Officers also may be encouraged, although not mandated, to travel by a class lower than their entitlement. The final decision in this regard may be left to the officers.
The Cabinet Secretary wants to get the maximum 'value for money' for our public expenditure.
This kind of instructions is being routinely issued for the last fifty years or so and our babus and ministers continue to live like princes. Why waste more paper on these instructions which are going to be treated with scant respect?