The Finance Ministry has pulled up various departments for not seeking prior permission to hold international and domestic conferences, and warned expenditure may not be approved in the absence of advance sanction. The ministry also reiterated ban on holding meetings and conferences in five-star hotels saying the guidelines on cutting non-plan expenditure should be "strictly" followed.
In a communication to all ministries and departments, the Finance Ministry said that proposals for approval of Expenditure Secretary or Cabinet Secretary are to submitted at at least one month in advance. The instruction has been issued after it was found that timelines for submission of cases were not adhered to and also a large number of cases were being referred to the Department of Expenditure seeking post-facto approval.