Government Bars Ministries From Spending On Diwali And Festival Gifts

In an effort to curb unnecessary government spending, the union government has barred all ministries, departments, and other bodies from incurring any expenditure on gifts ahead of Diwali and the upcoming festive season, as per a directive by the Ministry of Finance.

The directive was issued on Sept. 19 by the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance. It instructed all central government offices to immediate stop such spending.

“In the interest of prudent and judicious use of public resources, it has been decided that no expenditure shall be incurred on gifts and related items for Diwali and other festivals by Ministries/Departments and other organs of the Government of India,” the order said.

The order, which was signed by Joint Secretary P.K. Singh, comes in the midst of new GST reforms, which has brought down prices of most consumer daily goods in order to promote spending and boost consumption in the country, heading into the festive season.

The new GST rates, which lowered prices of daily goods, cars and other items, was implemented on Sept 22. The government calls it the "Bachat Utsav".

That said, the government remains committed to curbing any internal, non-essential expenditure.

This is not the first time the government has issued such an internal order to curb spending.

Similar instructions were given in Sept. 2020, when ministries and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) were asked to stop printing and distributing calendars, diaries and even greeting cards in order to reduce costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This latest order also follows an earlier communication to CPSEs, where the Department of Public Enterprises asked top executives to not purchase gifts during the festive season.