Chandigarh, Oct. 17 -- The Haryana Finance Department (FD) has issued guidelines regarding official and private foreign visits concerning all state government employees. These new instructions apply to all Group A, B, C, and D government employees, including members of All India Services serving in the state, a government spokesperson said. "Regarding official foreign travel (on government expenses), permission will now be considered for a maximum of only one official visit and one private visit in a financial year," the guideline says. "The total combined duration of foreign stay, encompassing both official and private visits taken together, must not exceed three weeks." All proposals for official foreign travel must follow a mandatory approval flow. They must first be approved by the chief minister (on the administrative department's side) and only thereafter the proposal will be submitted to the FD for financial concurrence. FD's approval for foreign visits for attending seminars and training must be obtained in advance. For private foreign travel (on personal expenses), permission will be considered for a maximum of one private visit in a financial year by the administrative department, and the sanction order must mention the name of the visiting country. "To prevent conflicts of interest, permission will be denied if the personal foreign visit is sponsored or borne by private organisations with which the concerned department has official dealings...ex-post facto approval will not be granted under any circumstances and officers leaving the country without prior permission will face strict disciplinary action," the guidelines say....