New Delhi: Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has decided to communicate with MPs and VVIPs through e-mail to reduce time and improve efficiency.

Hereafter, there will be only "soft" conversations through the Net with MPs and VVIPs instead of the "hard" copies by way of letters, a Finance Ministry spokesperson said on February 21.

The IT-savvy minister has already introduced several innovative steps including putting up a Website on the Mid-Year Economic Review and the Kelkar panel recommendations to elicit public views.

The pre-Budget interaction with the public and experts in various fields were also done through the Website for the first time this year by dispensing with the customary pre-Budget meetings.

The ministry has also aggressively taken up computerisation drive in the tax departments and plans to reduce the interface between taxpayers and officials.

PTI