Govt to Babus: Off on an official trip? Show impact then

Government officials on foreign trips will no longer enjoy the work trips as paid vacations. As per a new move by the government, they would have to maintain an account of their expenses, and furnish the details to their seniors.

Details of trips undertaken from 2013-14 would have to be submitted in the coming few days.

This move has come because of the common perception that these trips, undertaken for gaining experience and insights are often turned into pleasure jaunts by government officials.

There have been cases when officials travelled abroad in more numbers than required, even stretching the durations of their stays and visiting irrelevant places.

These details would be uploaded on a website especially created for this purpose by Software Management Information System. Ministries and departments have been given a deadline of December end, to upload the details.

Not only this, all ministries and departments have been directed to prepare a "rolling plan" which would include the plans for all future foreign visits.

"The idea behind the rolling plan is to submit the proposed trips of officials in the next quarter. This can be updated and amended. Government wants foreign trips by officials on government expenditure to be result-oriented," a senior government official told ET.

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