Chandigarh, March 24 — The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has denied political clearance to Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and his team for a planned visit to the United States.
The delegation, which included Animal Husbandry Principal Secretary Rahul Bhandari and Director Dr. GS Bedi, was scheduled to travel to Wisconsin from March 29 to April 6 to finalize a deal with ABS Global for sexed semen of Holstein Friesian (HF) cows.
Government sources confirmed the rejection, stating that the MEA responded a week after receiving the clearance request, saying the “clearance cannot be given.” The Punjab Livestock Development Board was to bear the expenses for the visit.
“The Punjab Government has been in talks with ABS Global to get sexed semen for the HF breed of cows. Most dairy farmers prefer these over Gir or Sahiwal breeds because HF cows produce a higher milk yield—up to 81 litres a day,” a senior government official said.
The official mentioned that although artificial insemination is used for around 30 lakh cows in Punjab, only 1.5-1.75 lakh cows have access to sexed semen.
“The way forward in dairy development is to procure at least five lakh sexed semen vials annually to ensure more cows are born,” he said.
He added that ABS Global had been in discussions to establish a lab in Punjab for this purpose. “We wanted to formalize the deal, but it will now have to wait.”
This is not the first time the MEA has denied political clearance to an AAP-led Punjab government minister.
Last year, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was refused permission to attend the Paris Olympics. In 2022, Minister Aman Arora was also barred from visiting Germany and Belgium for an official trip.
