New Delhi: Calling for an urgent need for rationalization of expenditure and optimization of available resources in order to ensure adequate resources for meeting the development needs of the social & infrastructure sector, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has come up with an Expenditure Management Plan.

The Plan, 'to be followed mutatis mutandis by various autonomous and statutory bodies like Central Universities, IITs, etc.', seeks plugging costs related to conducting seminars, setting up infrastructure, travel expenses, advertising and publicity etc.

The Ministry has announced a mandatory 10% cut in the non Plan expenditure under administrative heads like Domestic and Foreign Travel expenses, Publications, Professional Services, Office expenses etc.

"The remaining portion of non-plan expenditure excluding salary and pension will be subjected to a mandatory 5% cut", the Ministry said in its 12-page notice.

The Ministry has ordered educational institutes to take up seminars, conferences etc. only where they are absolutely necessary and also to observe utmost economy while organizing them.

"There should be strict monitoring of projects like construction of building, etc to ensure that there is no time and cost overrun and accountability should be fixed for any lapse on this account. Proper planning should be done before procurement of equipments so as to ensure proper synchronization between the delivery of equipments and creation of necessary infrastructural facilities at the Institute level", the Ministry said.

The Plan also seeks to restrict Domestic and Foreign travel by faculty members and other officers.

"All the domestic travel will take place by economy class, irrespective of the entitlement. Faculty members and other officers and staff should be encouraged to avail the facility of low fare refundable air tickets. Similarly for payments of TA/DA to non-officials for attending meeting of governing Boards, etc., use of low fare refundable air tickets may be increasingly resorted to", it said.

The Ministry, has, however said that in order to meet the costs within the available resources, education institutes can seek generation of additional resources by gradual revision of tuition fees, levy of user fees, withdrawal of hostel subsidies and through other measures.