Austerity: Govt halts purchase of new vehicles for ministries, divisions

The government on Sunday issued a circular halting procurement of new vehicles for various ministries and divisions for the fresh financial year as part of the government’s austerity measures meant for maintaining a sound foreign exchange reserve and taming inflation.

The Finance Division on Sunday issued a circular in this regard.

The government directed all the government, semi-government, autonomous and other bodies to suspend buying vehicles for fiscal 2022-23 under any circumstances.

The directive said that the replacement of even old cars would come under the purview of the new decision.

A similar restriction on cars was imposed in 2020 for 6 months against the backdrop of the Covid-19 economic fallout.

Besides, only 50 % of allocated hospitality and training allowances will be available for public officials this financial year.