India's top-ranked state on the Fiscal Health Index declared itself too strained for foreign vacations and cut its VIP convoys in half — after the Prime Minister politely asked. The convoy is still several cars long.
When Prime Minister Modi asked states to conserve fuel, Arunachal Pradesh — which just topped the national Fiscal Health Index — sprang into action with a sweeping Cabinet order: a one-year ban on all foreign travel by ministers and officials, and a 50% cut in convoy sizes. The state also adopted a virtual-first meeting policy and required LTC travel to be booked 45 days in advance. What the austerity drive did not address: the ₹36,607-crore budget, the ₹701-crore fiscal deficit, or the question of why such large convoys were necessary in the first place. India's most fiscally responsible state has decided the best response to a spending crisis is to ceremonially park two of its escort vehicles — and call it frugality.