Rs 558 crore spent on PM Modi's foreign visits in five years, Centre informs Parliament

NEW DELHI: The Centre has spent Rs 558.01 crore on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits between 2021 and 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs informed the Rajya Sabha. Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita shared the details in response to questions raised by MPs V. Sivadasan and Sanjay Singh. The government also submitted a year-wise breakup of the Prime Minister's overseas visits and related expenditure from 2021 onwards.

The minister said the Prime Minister's foreign visits had helped strengthen India's diplomatic ties and boost trade and investment opportunities. He added that the visits enhanced cooperation in sectors such as technology, trade, defence and energy. The government also informed the House that India received $381.8 billion in foreign investment between April 2021 and December 2025.

According to the data, the Centre spent Rs 74.59 crore on the Prime Minister's foreign visits between February and July 2026. The expenditure covered official visits to countries including Malaysia, Israel, the UAE, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Among the 2026 visits, the highest expenditure was incurred on the Norway visit at Rs 17.46 crore, followed by Israel (Rs 11.92 crore), Seychelles (Rs 8.22 crore), Sweden (Rs 6.33 crore), Malaysia (Rs 5.57 crore) and New Zealand (Rs 5.44 crore).

The highest annual expenditure during the 2021–2026 period was recorded in 2025, when the Centre spent Rs 187.83 crore on the Prime Minister's foreign visits. The costliest visits that year were to France (Rs 25.60 crore), Brazil (Rs 17.72 crore), the United States (Rs 16.56 crore), Saudi Arabia (Rs 15.54 crore), China (Rs 10.60 crore) and the United Kingdom (Rs 9.92 crore).

In 2024, the government spent Rs 109.51 crore on the Prime Minister's foreign visits. The visit to the United States cost Rs 15.34 crore, while the visit to Italy cost Rs 14.37 crore. Visits to Russia (Rs 10.75 crore), Poland (Rs 10.10 crore) and Singapore (Rs 7.75 crore) also accounted for significant expenditure.