Keeping
in mind the year-end rush and loosening the purse strings to cope with the
impact of coronavirus, the finance ministry on Monday declared the government
expenditure system to be an essential service, thereby ordering all offices
connected with the payment functions to remain open on working hours.
"This
measure will ensure that in these challenging times, the expenditure system
functions quickly to cope with any emergent needs," finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted. In the office memorandum, the Department of
Expenditure said that absence of staff should not be a reason for any delay or
non-functioning of the payment and accounting systems. According to extant
rules, up to 10% of the Budget could be spent in March.
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Economy