MORE Central Government departments, which are under an order to “tighten their belts” and slash administrative expenditures by around 5 percent, started to publish their annual budgets Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Finance.

This year, as pressure rises to maintain fiscal balance, 102 Central Government departments were ordered to disclose plans for income and revenue.

That number is an increase from 89 in 2018 as the government tightens budget management and improves data transparency, according to a senior official at the ministry’s budget department.

Government departments need to explain how and where they will spend money, especially as moves to encourage public supervision have increased in recent years.

“It is a way to crack down on corruption and have the authority operate in the sunlight,” according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

The financing of some significant projects, such as the budget for dredging of a 12.5-meter-deep shipping channel in the Yangtze River, has been released with departmental budgets.

In March, Premier Li Keqiang ordered government officials to “tighten their belts” and limit spending for the government’s daily operations by 5 percent or more this year, according to the annual Government Work Report. (China Daily)