Centre Denies Political Clearance for Punjab Agriculture Minister’s US Visit
The Ministry of External Affairs has denied political clearance to Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and a team of senior officials for an official visit to the United States.
This marks yet another instance where ministers from the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government have been denied permission for foreign visits. Last year, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was refused clearance to attend the Paris Olympics, and in 2022, Minister Aman Arora’s proposed trip to Germany and Belgium was similarly blocked.
The latest delegation, which included Animal Husbandry Principal Secretary Rahul Bhandari and Director Dr. G.S. Bedi, was scheduled to visit the laboratory of ABS Global in Wisconsin from March 29 to April 6. The purpose of the trip was to finalize a partnership with the company for the procurement of sexed semen for the Holstein Friesian (HF) breed of cows—a high-yielding dairy breed favored by farmers in Punjab.
Despite submitting the request for political clearance earlier this month, the Ministry reportedly responded after a week, stating that the “clearance cannot be given.” The expenses for the proposed visit were to be covered by the Punjab Livestock Development Board.
A senior official from the Punjab Government confirmed the development, saying, “We’ve been in advanced talks with ABS Global to secure sexed semen for HF cows, which can produce up to 81 litres of milk a day—much higher than local breeds like Gir or Sahiwal.”
Currently, artificial insemination is used on nearly 30 lakh cows in the state, but sexed semen is only available for 1.5 to 1.75 lakh animals. “Our goal is to scale this up to at least five lakh vials annually to boost dairy productivity,” the official added. Plans were also underway for ABS Global to set up a facility in Punjab, but with the visit now stalled, progress on the agreement will be delayed.
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