The government on Wednesday said the Prime Minister’s advice to people in the midst of the West Asia crisis was not about austerity but wise spending.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to conserve fuel, adopt work-from-home where possible, and reduce avoidable foreign-exchange outflows has been described as austerity measures. This phrase is misleading as the government is not implementing austerity measures which has negative economic connotations,” said sources.
Officials said austerity usually suggests budget cuts, reduced government spending, lower subsidies and fiscal tightening.
“Modi government is not cutting capital expenditure, welfare spending or subsidies. PM Modi’s appeal is not about spending less. It is about spending more wisely by reducing fuel consumption, avoidable dependence on imported goods and foreign-currency-intensive services,” official sources clarified as the Prime Minister reduced his convoy to two vehicles today to conserve fuel and other ministers followed.
