In Jordan, the parliament has voted in favour of the confidence motion for the Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh. In the 120 member parliament the vote was 75-31, with four abstentions and 10 MPs absent. The new Prime Minister faces a tough challenge to offset a huge budget deficit and hold elections this year to meet reform demands. 

Tarawneh plans to raise commodity prices and taxes as part of an austerity package to tackle a huge deficit of around $3 billion in this year’s $9.6-billion budget. He said the government was looking into means to increase in the prices of electricity and some fuel derivatives. Other austerity measures include cuts in government spending, a freeze on hiring and a hike in taxes on some banks and mining companies.

The Government has came out with a number of austerity measures to cut down spending on foreign travel by ministers and officials, holding of meetings in five-star hotels and purchase of new cars by government departments in view of the tight economic situation.

Announcing the measures in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said the Government was committed to carry on the process of fiscal consolidation vigorously. 

In a bid to adhere to the budgetary fiscal targets and for better expenditure management, the Government will issue orders for strict compliance of austerity measures, he added.

The Minister's statement comes two days after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha that the Government planned to announce some unpopular austerity measures to tighten the belt.