Over Rs 255 Crore Spent On PM Narendra Modi's Foreign Trips In Past Three Years

An expenditure of Rs 255 crore has been incurred on chartered flights in the past three years on prime minister Narendra Modi¡¯s foreign engagements. The Rajya Sabha was briefed about the foreign tours of the president, vice president, prime minister, external affairs minister yesterday in a written reply.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that in 2016-17 Rs 76.27 crore was spent on chartered flights while in 2017-18 Rs 99.32 crore was spent.

In 2018-19, Rs 79.91 crore was spent while the bill for 2019-20 has not been received, he said, adding in 2016-17, Rs 2,24,75,451 were incurred on hotline facilities while in 2017-18 the cost incurred for it was Rs 58,06,630.

Answering a question on domestic engagements, he said, ¡°As per Government of India policy on use of IAF aircraft/helicopters by VVIPs and VIPs, the Prime Minister is entitled for free airlift in IAF aircrafts and helicopters on official tours."

PM Modi undertook seven foreign trips and visited nine countries from August till November this year.

File Photo/PTI

The prime minister visited Bhutan, France, the UAE, Bahrain, Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Brazil in the said period, according to the data.

Replying to another written question, Muraleedharan said a US-based not-for-profit organisation -- Texas India Forum, Inc. -- organised an event titled "Howdy, Modi! Shared Dreams, Bright Futures" in Houston on September 22.

The prime minister, as part of his US visit (September 21-27), took part in the event at the invitation of the organisers and addressed a gathering of members of the Indian-American community and many of their elected representatives, Muraleedharan said.

Sharing details of President Ram Nath Kovind, the minister told he undertook three foreign trips and visited seven countries from August to November, while Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu undertook an equal number of foreign trips and visited six countries.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar undertook 13 trips to 16 countries and Muraleedharan undertook 10 trips to 16 countries in the said period, according to the data presented by the minister.

Fourteen dignitaries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited India from August to November, the data showed.

Modi has flown out nearly twice as much as his predecessor Manmohan Singh in during his tenure. His frequent travel schedule has attracted criticism from the Opposition, accusing him of not paying enough attention to the country.