Our sources tell us that with six Union Ministers away on foreign jaunts, their first this year, the Prime Minister has decided not to convene the Union Cabinet. Seniors in the Cabinet Secretariat can therefore look forward to the upcoming weekend. Cabinet meetings are generally held on Thursdays, while meetings of the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs are held on Tuesdays.

A secretary to the Govt of India joked that even if cabinet meetings are held there will only be four to six items on the agenda, which can be disposed off in just 10 minutes or less.

And speaking of holidays, the PMO is curious to know about a Union Minister who was on a private visit to an enemy country not only with his family, but with a few businessmen from his state.

After decentralisations of powers, any Union Minister can take a 15-day private visit in a year by informing the PMO. In UPA I, the drill was that even for private visits, the minister had to get a clearance from the PMO.