The details of the foreign visits undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the expenses incurred on his chartered flights have been put out on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In 2014, the Prime Minister had gone on foreign tour seven times after he was sworn in visiting a total of eight countries. His first foreign destination was Bhutan, followed by Brazil, Nepal, Japan, US, Myanmar, Australia and Fiji. Till date, the Prime Minister has undertaken 24 trips visiting more than 30 countries.
The expenses incurred on the PM’s chartered flights are available only for a few of the trips he undertook in 2014. For the others, bills are seen to have not been received or processed. The expenses for the foreign trips are met out of the budget head ‘Cabinet Ministers – Maintenance of PM’s aircraft – other charges’ under Demand no.54. For his domestic visits, the expenses are met from the budget of the Ministry of Defence.
On PM Modi’s Bhutan trip, Rs 2,45,27,465 was spent for his chartered flight while it went up considerably for his Brazil visit – Rs 20,35,48,000. The maximum amount was however spent for the Prime Minister’s three-nation tour of Australia, Myanmar and Fiji when Rs 22,58,65,000 was spent. For neighbouring countries like Nepal, the PM takes the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) of the Indian Air Force.
Here are the details: (Amount in Rs is expense incurred on chartered flights)
Bhutan – Rs 2,45,27,465
Brazil – Rs 20,35,48,000
Nepal – IAF BBJ aircraft
Japan – Rs 13,47,58,000
US – Rs 19,04,60,000
Myanmar, Australia & Fiji – Rs 22,58,65,000
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:)
