Rs 557 crore spent on PM Modi’s foreign trips since 2021

The cumulative expenditure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's overseas visits has crossed Rs 557.5 crore since 2021, according to figures presented in Parliament by the Ministry of External Affairs. Responding to an unstarred question from opposition legislators in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita detailed a fivefold increase in annual travel costs.

The disclosures reveal a steep, year-over-year climb in outbound travel expenses. Outlays rose from Rs 36.1 crore in pandemic-restricted 2021 to Rs 55.8 crore in 2022, before accelerating to Rs 93.6 crore in 2023, Rs 109.5 crore in 2024, and topping Rs 187.8 crore across 2025. For 2026, the government reported an expenditure of Rs 74.5 crore so far on six trips that covered 13 countries.

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Parliamentary queries from Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Dr. V. Sivadasan probed both the visit-by-visit expenses and the tangible economic outcomes yielded by the travel (News24online). In defense of the outlays, the Ministry of External Affairs maintained that high-level diplomatic engagements are essential for cementing bilateral partnerships (National Herald India).

To substantiate the economic value of the journeys, the government reported that 316 memoranda of understanding and agreements have been signed during foreign visits since July 2021. Furthermore, the ministry linked the international outreach to broader capital inflows, noting that India attracted $381.8 billion—equivalent to roughly Rs 36.3 lakh crore—in foreign direct investment between April 2021 and December 2025 (Scroll).

Yearly Travel Expenditure

• 2021: Rs 36.1 crore
• 2022: Rs 55.8 crore
• 2023: Rs 93.6 crore
• 2024: Rs 109.5 crore
• 2025: Rs 187.8 crore
• 2026 (Provisional): Rs 74.5 crore

While the data released by the ministry did not specify what the money was spent on, submissions to Parliament outline that the cost includes the expenditure on accommodations for the prime minister’s delegation, transportation, security and hardware, venue charges and “miscellaneous” expenses. Individual itineraries generated notable outlays: in 2025, visits included France at Rs 25.59 crore, Brazil at Rs 17.72 crore, the United States at Rs 16.54 crore, and Saudi Arabia at Rs 15.54 crore. For 2026, the largest amount of funds was spent on the prime minister’s trip to Norway in May, which cost Rs 17 crore.

Financial accounting for the prime minister's international schedule remains incomplete. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, some figures remain provisional and the cost of the France visit in June is yet to be finalised.

Historical Travel Costs and Diplomatic Scope

To provide broader context on the escalating travel figures, the Ministry of External Affairs supplied comparative historical data to Parliament. Submissions highlighted that outlays for individual prime ministerial journeys in prior years included INR 10,74,27,363 (USA, 2011), INR 9,95,76,890 (Russia, 2013), INR 8,33,49,463 (France, 2011) and INR 6,02,23,484 (Germany, 2013), according to details reported by National Herald India. Minister of State Pabitra Margherita noted that these figures show actual expenditure without adjusting for inflation or currency fluctuations. National Herald India noted that cumulative expenditure on the prime minister's foreign visits since 2021 has steadily increased over the years. Earlier data shared by the government in July 2025 showed spending of nearly Rs 295 crore between 2021 and 2024. With the addition of 2025 expenditure, the total outlay since 2021 has crossed Rs 480 crore.

The diplomatic outreach behind the expenditures encompasses a wide array of bilateral and multilateral domains. According to The Times of India, the 316 MoUs and agreements have been signed during the foreign visits since July 2021. These cover sectors including defence, digital technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renewable energy, healthcare, education, agriculture, space cooperation, mobility and migration, climate action and cultural exchanges.

The geographic breadth of the prime minister's schedule over the five-year period is extensive, featuring numerous regional and global destinations:

• 2021: Bangladesh, the US, Italy and the UK.
• 2022: Germany, Denmark, France, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Uzbekistan and Indonesia.
• 2023: Papua New Guinea, Australia, Japan, the US, the UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Indonesia and Greece.
• 2024: The UAE, Bhutan, Qatar, Italy, Austria, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Brunei Darussalam, the US, Singapore, Laos, Brazil, Guyana and Kuwait.
• 2025: France, Brazil, the US, Saudi Arabia, China, the UK, Mauritius, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Canada, Croatia, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Namibia, the Maldives, Japan, Bhutan, South Africa, Jordan, Oman and Ethiopia.
• 2026: Italy, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, France, Indonesia, the UAE, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Seychelles and Slovakia.

As financial accounting for the prime minister's international itinerary remains open, the next step involves finalizing the provisional expenses from the 2026 calendar year, specifically including the cost of the France visit in June is yet to be finalised.