Odisha govt bars foreign tours by its employees, new cars to save costs

No new schemes or projects will be taken up by most government departments as austerity measure for coronavirus-hit economy.

Odisha on Tuesday issued the expenditure rationalisation measures for all government departments in the wake of the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are going through a crisis of unprecedented nature due to the global pandemic COVID-19. It has posed challenges in every sphere of our life. The State Government has been fighting the pandemic with all its might to minimize the casualty. The strategic imposition of shutdowns/lockdowns at various places could ensure the minimum spread of the virus" said State Finance Secretary Ashok Meena in a letter to all departments.

"However, nation-wide lockdown/ shutdown has interrupted the economic activities