Modi spent nearly $1b on ads, foreign trips
GLOBETROTTING PREMIER’S 84 TRIPS ALONE COST ROUGHLY $280M
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hectic travel schedule and his government’s advertising blitz over the past four-and-a-half years have cost Indian taxpayers about Rs65.9 billion (Dh3.38 billion or $920 million).
The globetrotting prime minister’s 84 trips around the world cost roughly $280 million, while the government spent $640 million on promoting Modi’s flagship projects and achievements, according to new government data.
The money spent on each trip, combined with the cost of maintenance on Air India One and setting up a secure hotline, was provided in a response to a lawmaker’s question in parliament by V.K. Singh, the country’s junior foreign minister.
The money spent on advertisements — some of which bear Modi’s image — was also mentioned in parliament by Rajyavardhan Rathore, the junior minister for information and broadcasting.
Diplomatic successes
Since taking office, Modi has maintained a punishing pace of world travel, meeting some global leaders such as US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe multiple times in a bid to boost India’s influence in global affairs and secure its strategic interests.
Some of his trips, including an informal summit with President Xi Jinping in the Chinese city of Wuhan, are credited as diplomatic successes. His meeting with China’s leader after a tense stand-off in the Himalayas was seen as ushering in a détente between the world’s two most-populous countries.
Others generated some controversy.
His trip to Japan in 2016 — which came immediately after Modi eliminated 86 per cent of India’s currency, sending millions into bank queues to exchange worthless cash — led to accusations by the opposition that he was travelling the world while ordinary Indians were struggling.