Rising oil prices and inflation rate have prompoted India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask his ministerial colleagues to curtail their official spending and embrace austerity.
Prime Minister Singh’s letter to his ministers on Thursday came after the government decision to hike the fuel prices created a political opposition in the country.
In the letter, the prime minister asked the minister to be "aware of the huge burden imposed on our financial resources due to the continuously rising trend in global oil prices and our dependence on import of crude."
"As we initiate steps to meet this resource crunch, it is inevitable that some of the burden would have to be borne by the public. We need to explain to the people the constraints and reasons that have compelled the Government to introduce these measures," he said.
Simultaneously, he said, it is equally necessary for us to introduce the utmost economy in our own administrations and establishments. 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," the prime minister told ministers.
"I am, therefore, writing to ask you to severely curtail expenditure on air travel, particularly foreign travel, except in cases where it is deemed to be absolutely necessary. This economy may be made applicable immediately for your own self and also for all senior functionaries in your Ministry," he added.
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