Opulence out, new austerity mantra in India
No first class air travel on overseas visits. No pow-wow in luxury hotels. Ostentation and opulence are out; austerity is in.
The new Indian government has tightened the belt and asked officials to cut down all the flab and frills, and get down to business. Unveiling an austerity drive, the Indian government underlined that it was aimed at cutting non-plan expenditure by 10% and bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15.
The new guidelines enunciated by India’s finance ministry has barred bureaucrats from travelling first class on overseas visits and asked them to use video conferencing as much as possible. The accent is on doing away with needless frills, with officials barred from holding meetings in 5-star hotels.