In a letter to his council of ministers the Prime Minister asked them to enforce austerity by leading by example. "It cannot be denied that there is substantial scope to reduce expenditure on travel and administration. As we ask the people to bear some of the financial burden of our oil imports, it is not only necessary from the resource conservation point of view but also as a moral duty to cut out all wasteful expenditure in our own establishments," he said.
This is not the first time the Prime Minister has asked that his ministers curtail expenditure on travel. Two years ago, he had circulated a similar letter, though without the reason that exists today. In fact as many as 31 ministers have been refused permission to go abroad for various reasons in the last year or so, the most common being that the Parliament is in session.
Immediately reacting to the letter, information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Das Munsi directed his staff not to book "J" class tickets for him when he travels by air and to book economy instead.
Minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who is considered averse to foreign travel, says that austerity measures are being taken seriously by the ministers.
