NEW DELHI: The Central government on Thursday has disclosed that nearly Rs 258 crore was spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 38 foreign visits between May 2022 and December 2024.
The highest expenditure for a single visit was incurred during the Prime Minister’s trip to the United States in June 2023, which amounted to over Rs 22 crore, news agency PTI reported.
This information was shared by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, in response to a query in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The query, raised by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, asked for the total expenditure incurred by Indian embassies on arrangements for the Prime Minister’s foreign trips over the last three years, along with a breakdown of costs for areas such as hotel arrangements, community receptions, transport, and other miscellaneous expenses.
The data presented in the government’s response outlined the expenditure incurred on PM Modi’s foreign visits, including expenses for the official, accompanying, security, and media delegations. The details were provided in a tabular format, covering visits made between May 2022 and December 2024.
Among the notable expenditures, the trip to the US in June 2023 cost Rs 22,89,68,509, while the September 2024 visit to the US amounted to Rs 15,33,76,348. Other significant trips include the PM’s visit to Japan in May 2023, costing Rs 17,19,33,356, and his visit to Nepal in May 2022, which was considerably less expensive at Rs 80,01,483.
The list of foreign countries visited by PM Modi between 2022 and 2024 includes Germany, Kuwait, Denmark, France, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Australia, Egypt, South Africa, Greece, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Brazil, and Guyana.
Here is a summary of the expenditure for some of these visits:
- Poland: Rs 10,10,18,686
- Ukraine: Rs 2,52,01,169
- Russia: Rs 5,34,71,726
- Italy: Rs 14,36,55,289
- Brazil: Rs 5,51,86,592
- Guyana: Rs 5,45,91,495
The total cost of the 38 visits, from May 2022 to December 2024, amounts to nearly Rs 258 crore.
For comparison, the Minister also provided data on previous foreign trips made by former Prime Minister prior to 2014, including:
- USA (2011): Rs 10,74,27,363
- Russia (2013): Rs 9,95,76,890
- France (2011): Rs 8,33,49,463
- Germany (2013): Rs 6,02,23,484
The figures provided for earlier visits do not account for inflation or currency fluctuations.
