No limousine, 30% salary cut among austerity steps announced by President

According to the officials, these measures will result in the saving of around Rs 40-45 crore annually by the Rashtrapati Bhavan which has a yearly budget of more than Rs 200 crore

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday decided to take a 30 per cent salary cut for the whole year besides announcing a slew of other austerity measures to aid the nation's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The domestic tours and programmes of the President will be substantially reduced in order to follow social distancing restrictions and minimise expenditure, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique issued on Thursday.

Instead, the president will largely rely on technology to reach out to people, it said. Usually, the president travels to different parts of the country to attend various official programmes. There are state