Context :
To curb wasteful spending, Centre looks
at tightening purse strings / Business Line
/ 12 June 2021
Extract :
Officials estimate savings of ₹ 1.5-1.6-lakh crore, if this is implemented ‘ truly in words and
spirits ’.
Suggestive
list of account heads for controlling expenditure
# Overtime allowances
# Domestic, foreign travel
expenses Advertising and publicity Publication
# Office expenses
Dear Smt Sitharamanji,
This is a very welcome initiative
But how can Ministers get this ( austerity ) message percolate all
the way down to 32 lakh employees of the Central Government ?
No doubt communicating is very important – with “ facts and
figures “ of “ Targets and Achievements “
, every month
But the surest way to get everyone on board, and pull in same
direction, is to set a PERSONAL EXAMPLE !
Such very VISIBLE personal behavior alone can tell the employees
that you mean business
Such personal examples will tell them :
Ø I practice what I preach
Ø I do not spare myself
Ø I subject myself to the same discipline that I expect from others
Many decades ago, when the Company I worked for faced some tough
times ( fast declining profits ), we introduced :
ECD [ Economy Cooperation Drive ]
To set example, Chairman – MD - Directors - Senior Managers , did
the following :
Ø For both, domestic and international, Air travel, use economy class instead of First Class
Ø While travelling to cities within India, stay in Company Guest Houses instead
of in 5-Star hotels
Ø While travelling in cities ( other than home station ), take taxies instead of Company Cars
Ø Hold meetings with customers in
company offices only , rather than in 5
star hotels
Ø No entertaining of Customers in hotels
Ø Total freeze on new recruitment (
including for replacement for resignations / retirements / deaths )
Ø At the end of the year, no DOUBLE
INCREEMENTS / LUMP SUM appreciation awards / promotions
Ø Introduction of Voluntary Retirement Scheme
Ø Transfer / Demotion of Senior Managers whose departments fail to achieve Cost Reduction Targets
Ø Switching off Air Conditioning / lights wherever
and whenever possible
Ø Drastic reduction in inventory of Office Supplies
This is only a partial list
Many of these suggestions came from Shop-floor workers who
witnessed many “ unproductive / wasteful “ practices all the time
One more thing
Such “ Economy Drive “ must not be a one-time / temporary action –
only to slip back when good times return
It must be made integral to governance by issue of a STANDARD
OPERATING PROCEDURE
As they say :
It is not sufficient to be COST-CONSCIOUS , you have to be
PERCEIVED to be so !
Dear Smt Sitharamanji,
Can citizen of India expect you to set a Personal Example ?
With regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 18
June 2021
RELATED READING :
With
dishy discounts gone, Parliament canteens end up saving Rs 9 crore
annually /
BL / 18 June 2021
Extract :
Till early this year, even after a heavy repast at a Parliament
canteen, rarely would a diner even look at the bill. After all, MPs,
Secretariat staff and even media persons were enjoying a plate of
mutton cutlet at just ₹18, mutton curry with bone cost no more than ₹20, and a masala
dosa an absurd ₹6, thanks to heavily subsidised dishes, some by over 80 per cent.
But no more. On Thursday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla officially
shared how ending the food subsidy in Parliament canteens will result in a
saving of ₹9 crore
annually.
In 2015, a reply to an RTI query had revealed that the canteens
received a subsidy of ₹14 crore every year. So, MPs enjoyed ‘fish
fried with chips’ at ₹25 a plate, boiled vegetables at ₹5 (a
subsidy of 83 per cent) and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani at ₹65.
Now, a masala dosa
costs ₹50, as does a plate of boiled vegetables. ‘Fish
and chips’ has been re-priced at ₹110 and mutton
curry at ₹125, while Chicken Biryani will cost ₹100.
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