₹557.51 crore spent on PM Modi’s trips to 77 countries since 2021: Govt

Government told Parliament PM Modi’s visits to 77 countries since 2021 cost ₹557.51 crore and resulted in 316 agreements across key sectors.

Published on: Aug 6, 2026, 18:51:20 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, New Delhi

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A total of ₹557.51 crore has been spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to 77 countries since 2021, including ₹74.59 crore on trips to 12 nations this year, according to information provided by the government in Parliament on Thursday.

Parliament was informed that PM Modi’s foreign visits since 2021 cost ₹557.51 crore, with 2025 recording the highest annual expenditure. (ANI)

The highest expenditure during this period was recorded in 2025, when the PM’s visits to 23 countries cost ₹187.83 crore, figures provided by minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita in the Rajya Sabha showed. He was responding to a question from Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and CPI MP V Sivadasan.

According to details provided by Margherita in a written response, the figures for 2026 did not include expenses incurred on a visit to France in June for the PM to attend an outreach session of the G20 Summit and hold bilateral meetings, as the “compilation of bills is still underway”.

Margherita noted in response to questions from the MPs that the total foreign direct investment (FDI) received by India between April 2021 and December 2025 was $381.8 billion.

He said the PM’s trips between 2021 and 2026 resulted in the signing of 316 agreements — including government-to-government pacts and MoUs between government institutions, research bodies, and universities — in fields such as defence, trade, investment, nuclear energy research and development, healthcare, renewable energy, space, sports, and culture.

Of all the trips this year, the PM’s visit to Norway in May for a bilateral meeting and to attend the India-Nordic Summit was the most expensive, costing the exchequer ₹17.46 crore. This was followed by visits to Israel in February ( ₹11.92 crore), Seychelles in June ( ₹8.22 crore), and Sweden in May ( ₹6.32 crore).

Expenditure on other trips this year included ₹5.57 crore for a visit to Malaysia in February, ₹1.97 crore for a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ₹3.6 crore for a visit to the Netherlands, ₹4.23 crore for a visit to Italy (all in May), ₹4.77 crore for a visit to the Slovak Republic in June, ₹3.87 crore for a visit to Indonesia, ₹1.18 crore for a visit to Australia, and ₹5.43 crore for a visit to New Zealand (all in July).

“High level visits by the Prime Minister are established means of fostering closer relations with foreign countries and promoting India’s engagements at bilateral, regional and global levels,” Margherita said in his reply.

“These visits, and the understandings and agreements concluded therein, facilitate the strengthening of partnerships across a wide range of sectors, including technology, innovation, trade and investment, defence and energy cooperation, and resilient supply chains, among others.”

Of the visits to 23 countries in 2025, the five most expensive were to France ( ₹25.59 crore), Brazil ( ₹17.72 crore), the US ( ₹16.54 crore), Saudi Arabia ( ₹15.54 crore), and China ( ₹10.6 crore).

The PM visited 17 countries in 2024 at a total cost of ₹109.51 crore, with the five most expensive trips being to the US ( ₹15.33 crore), Italy ( ₹14.36 crore), Russia ( ₹10.75 crore), Poland ( ₹10.1 crore), and Singapore ( ₹7.75 crore).

There were visits to 11 countries in 2023 that cost a total of ₹93.63 crore, with the most expensive trips being to the US ( ₹22.89 crore), Japan ( ₹17.19 crore), France ( ₹13.74 crore), and Papua New Guinea ( ₹8.58 crore).

The PM’s visits to 10 countries in 2022 cost a total of ₹55.83 crore, with the most expensive trips being to Germany ( ₹14.47 crore), another visit to Germany ( ₹9.44 crore), and Japan ( ₹8.68 crore).

The PM visited four countries in 2021, resulting in total expenditure of ₹36.12 crore. This included a visit to the US that cost ₹19.63 crore and a trip to the UK that cost ₹8.57 crore.

Margherita’s response also provided figures on expenditure for the PM’s visits under the previous UPA government for reference and noted that ₹10.74 crore was spent on a visit to the US in 2011, ₹8.33 crore on a visit to France in 2011, ₹9.95 crore on a visit to Russia in 2013, and ₹6.02 crore on a trip to Germany in 2013.

“These figures show actual expenditure without adjusting for inflation or currency fluctuations,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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