No caviar, costly biscuits on PM's jet

With austerity being the buzzword in Indian corridors of power, it seems that the bug is hitting every area of government-public interaction.

News is already out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's delegation has been pruned for his G-20 trip to Pittsburgh via Frankfurt in Germany. That, it seems, is not enough!

Staff on Air India One, the Prime Minister's official aircraft, was reportedly given advance instructions to trim the contents on offer in the official menu.

Following the order to a tee, the staff did not serve expensive biscuits and eliminated caviar, but in a concession to the media accompanying the delegation, served all those on board the choicest of liquor en route to Frankfurt, where there will be an overnight halt.