Expenditure of Rs 1,484 crore has been incurred on chartered flights, maintenance of aircraft, and hotline facilities in the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to 84 countries since June 2014, according to the government.
The details of Modi's foreign travel expenditure under the three heads were shared in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh.
According to the data:
- Rs 1,088.42 crore spent on maintenance of the prime minister's aircraft
- Rs 387.26 crore spent on chartered flights
- Rs 9.12 crore spent on hotline
Modi visited a total of 84 countries over 42 foreign trips since he became the prime minister in May 2014.
The details provided by Singh did not include expenditure on hotline facilities during his foreign visits in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The cost of chartered flights for visits in 2018-19 was also not included.
24 Countries Visited in 2015-16, 18 in 2016-17
According to Singh's reply, the prime minister visited a maximum of 24 countries in 2015-16 followed by 19 in 2017-18 and 18 nations in 2016-17.
In 2014-15, Modi had visited 13 countries with his first one as Prime Minister being to Bhutan in June 2014. In 2018, he travelled to 10 countries with the last one being to China earlier in June.
The cost for chartered flights to overseas destinations in 2014-15 was Rs 93.76 crore while in 2015-16, it was Rs 117 crore. In 2016-17, the cost was Rs 76.27 crore and in 2017-18, the expense on chartered flight was Rs 99.32 crore.
“Diplomatic outreach during this period (since May 2014) has included first-ever visits from India to several countries at the head of government level,” Singh said.
He said the outreach has led to the enhanced engagement with India's foreign partners on the government’s flagship programmes.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)