Meghalaya suspends foreign trips for six months

Shillong: The Meghalaya govt has decided to place on hold all officially funded foreign visits by ministers, MLAs, and govt officials for a period of six months as part of a broader expenditure rationalization and austerity initiative. “The decision has been taken in the larger public interest,” an official statement said on Wednesday. The measure comes at a time when govts across the country are exercising fiscal prudence in view of emerging global economic uncertainties, including rising geopolitical tensions and pressures on foreign exchange resources. “The state govt believes that prudent management of public expenditure is essential to ensure that resources remain focused on priority sectors and developmental commitments,” the official statement said.As a result of this decision, eight proposed foreign study visits and exposure programmes involving approximately 63–68 officials and representatives from various departments have been deferred. These included programmes relating to governance, livestock development, climate-resilient water management, healthcare systems, project implementation, environmental management, and electoral administration.The deferred visits covered destinations including the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Argentina.The state govt emphasised that the decision should not be viewed as a “withdrawal from international engagement or knowledge exchange”. Rather, it reflects a temporary pause in expenditure-bearing overseas travel while ensuring continued focus on governance priorities within the state, the statement pointed out. “Many of the intended learnings and collaborations will be explored through virtual engagements, technical partnerships and future opportunities once the restriction period concludes,” the official statement said.It was also informed that the notification issued by the state government did not apply to visits that were fully funded by the Government of India or entirely sponsored by multilateral development banks, subject to the requisite approvals from the Union ministry of external affairs.