In addition, a government circular issued to all private secretaries to all Union Ministers dated October 7, 2004 (it’s still effective and hasn’t been superseded so far), notes: “a Union Minister is entitled to travelling allowance in respect of not more than twelve return journeys performed during each year, within India, for himself and his family, whether travelling together or separately…’’ The Ministers have an overall entitlement of 48 single journeys each year, the circular says. And the same circular stated that the Minister may take along his private secretary or personal assistant or domestic help in his entitled class only in ‘public interest’. All the flights that were undertaken in the Railways in the past two years were, however, marked as ‘official’.