Govt job cuts? To lower revenue expenditure, Tamil Nadu mulls outsourcing

According to the Budget documents, almost 40 per cent of the state's revenue expenditure during 2017-18 is accounted for by salary and pension

The Tamil Nadu government, facing a financial crunch lately, is looking at staff rationalisation, besides outsourcing or employing contract workers for non-essential roles as a way to reduce its revenue expenditure.

The state finance department has issued a government order setting up a committee to look into the staff structure and identify non-essential posts. It has also replaced the pay bands and grade pay applicable to state government employees and teachers with a new system adopted by the Centre; this has added Rs 147.19 billion to the annual cost burden.

According to the Budget documents, almost 40 per cent of the state's