President Ram Nath Kovind has decided to forego 30 per cent of his salary for a year in view of the Coronavirus crisis.
Besides, the President also announced a slew of other austerity measures to aid the Government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan has decided to support ‘Self-Reliant India’ movement through greater flow of resources towards COVID-19 and for this, the President’s official residence is undertaking several measures to reduce its expenditure.
The domestic tours and programmes of the President will be substantially reduced in order to follow social distancing restrictions and minimise expenditure, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique issued today.
Instead, the President will largely rely on technology to reach out to people, it said.
President Ram Nath Kovind has decided to defer purchase of the Presidential Limousine which was to be used for ceremonial occasions. The existing resources of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Government will be shared and used for such occasions.
There will be substantial reduction in the use of office consumables. For instance, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will use e-technology to cut down the use of paper to avoid wastage and make the office eco-friendly. Efforts will be made to save energy and fuel by rationalising their usage amidst the crisis.
Expenses for occasions such as At-Home ceremonies and state banquets will be minimised by taking measures like, smaller guest lists to maintain social distance, minimum decoration on such occasions, and reducing the menu.
As per the communique, these measures are estimated to save nearly 20 percent of the budget of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the current financial year.
Earlier in April, the Government had decided to slash the salaries of the President, Prime Minister, Central ministers and MPs by 30 per cent for the coming year amid concerns over the long-standing crisis looming in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Taking a major step towards tackling the crisis, the Union Cabinet approved an ordinance amending the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, reducing allowances and pension by 30 per cent with effect from April 1, 2020 for a year.
The President, Vice President and Governors of States have voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said and added that the money will go to Consolidated Fund of India.
The Cabinet has also approved temporary suspension of MPLAD Fund of MPs during 2020-21 and 2021-22 for managing health and adverse impact of the Coronavirus outbreak in India.
The purse strings of the Government are being tightened in view of the coronavirus emergency and a fund — PM CARES — has been set up for relief efforts.
As many as 134 new COVID-19 fatalities and 3,722 fresh cases were reported in the past 24 hours across the nation, taking the total number of Coronavirus infections to 78,003 with the death toll at 2,549 on Thursday.