Following through announcements with enforcement of measures is key, as a run through recent Indian economic history shows, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Some ministers have a different point of view from the current conventional wisdom in the Congress party and the UPA government.
Justifying the government's austerity drive, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday the restrictions on foreign visits and other expenses are aimed at curbing wasteful expenditure and containing fiscal deficit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to citizens to adopt austerity measures, including avoiding destination weddings abroad and reducing edible oil consumption, to mitigate the impact of the West Asia crisis on India's economy.
There will also be a ban on purchase of new vehicles, the Finance Ministry said in a direction to all ministries and departments.
Bureaucrats, police officers and the security clan spend public funds as lavishly as ministers do.
Indian stock markets experienced a significant sell-off, with the Sensex tumbling over 1,300 points, driven by escalating crude oil prices due to US-Iran tensions and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for austerity measures, which amplified investor concerns about India's economic outlook.
The United Progressive Alliance government's austerity drive is expected to be extended to all Members of Parliament following an all party meeting, according to sources.Vice President Hamid Ansari will call an all-party meeting to decide on the issue once Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar returns from Rome. The chairman of the Rajya Sahba and the Lok Sabha speaker are expected to hold a discussion on the austerity drive.
Plainly put, this austerity drive is being carried too far and it has become a macabre Dickensian joke. Stop it and let us turn to serious business. Not only are the political class and their handmaidens in our media making much ado about nothing, they are insulting our common intelligence, says M K Bhadrakumar
The issue of austerity measures came up at the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Thursday with ministers seeking clarification on the economy drive launched by the government.The issue came up for an impromptu discussion when the Cabinet gave its approval to hike the Dearness Allowance for central government employees from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis is impacting lifestyles worldwide, from reduced gold purchases in India to energy conservation in Europe and Japan, as governments urge citizens to adapt to the global energy shock.
The government's austerity drive announced on Thursday , would lead to a saving of up to Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) or 0.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but poses risks to growth, Japanese brokerage Nomura has said.
Indian investors have seen their wealth erode by a staggering Rs 16.77 lakh crore over four trading sessions, as the markets faced deep losses driven by elevated crude oil prices, geopolitical tensions, persistent foreign fund outflows, and a record-low rupee.
'Even last year, when India bought gold, the physical quantity was much less than the previous years.'
Sharif, who recently assumed office for a record third term with a pledge to cut unnecessary expenses, gave directions to officials to cut the staff of the Prime Minister's Office by one-third so that administrative expenses can be curtailed.
Climbing down from its austerity drive, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday pegged working expenses of the Railways higher at Rs 39447.14 crore (Rs 394.47 billion) for 2003-04
'Who am I to say that the happiness of individuals is any less significant than Memorandum of Understandings signed between governments?'
Virat Kohli's 58th List A hundred resembled a grand opera played inside an empty Royal Albert Hall.
Terming the austerity drive launched by the Congress-led government as "hypocrisy", Janata Dal (United) National President Sharad Yadav on Saturday said if the Congress was serious about the issue, it should bring a bill to this effect in the Parliament.
The ministry asked all departments to cut avoidable expenditure, including seminars and conferences at five-star hotels and abroad, purchase of new vehicles, foreign travel and appointment of consultants.
Most Congress leaders and Cabinet ministers have already felt the pinch of these measures and resent the fact that Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi wants to ground their high-flying ways and curtail their five-star extravagance.
Government may slash spending on foreign travel by ministers and officials and on meetings in five-star hotels as part of austerity measures to cut down on budget deficit.
Despite claims of an 'austerity drive' by the United Progressive Alliance government and the Congress party, some Union ministers appeared to prefer upmarket accommodation during their official visits to the United States.
The finance minister's vow to contain the deficit means there will be little room ahead of a tough election to spur growth.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday finalised a plan to rectify the 'wrong trends' in the party under which guidelines were formulated for an austerity drive and to make its ministers more accountable.
With signs of economic revival becoming more pronounced, the government has relaxed the austerity drive undertaken last year and from April 1, government employees will be allowed to fly first class.
Air India's top brass will now travel like kings with the austerity drive having been given a quiet burial. The airline issued an order on November 27 saying that the airline's chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav and his spouse can travel first class on its flights, whether on work or on vacation. Not only that, parents and children of the serving chief executive can travel business class during vacation on Air India flights.
Government may slash spending on foreign travel by ministers and officials and on meetings in five-star hotels as part of austerity measures to cut down on budget deficit in view of the tight economic situation.
The issue regarding remuneration of company CEOs will be debated by the parliamentary standing committee.
The UPA government's drive has come under some questioning from an ally with a mind of its own.
Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun.
Deutsche Bank's new co-CEO Anshu Jain has voiced his support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's austerity drive to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.
The book was thinner by 60 pages compared to last year.
On tap to keynote the 26th annual Convention of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Originarguably the largest and most influential ethnic professional organization in the United Statesin Las Vegas next week, is Indian Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, who AAPI leaders say has confirmed he will attend despite rumors to the contrary because of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's austerity drive discouraging his ministers from foreign travel.
On September 7, 2009, the government had instructed all its departments not to travel first class within or outside the country on government account.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has learnt that humour has no place in Indian politics. George Joseph meets the newly-cautious Tharoor, and finds out why the satirical novelist enjoys being part of the Indian government.
By replacing just 50 per cent of proprietary software with open source in desktops and servers in 2010, India can save close to Rs 10,000 crore.
In view of the government's austerity drive, Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Sunday decided to forego travel by private aircraft which he is entitled to use on visits abroad and said he will go by commercial flights.
Starting on an experimental basis, Delhiites would make the budget for the capital.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
