Only Indian missions in Abu Dhabi and Moscow have shared cost details for Prime Minister’s visits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited 16 countries in 2024, but most Indian embassies have not provided information on the expenditure incurred for these high-profile trips under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, reported deccanherald.com.
According to an RTI query filed by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retired), only the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Embassy in Moscow have released information on the costs of PM Modi’s visits.
The Abu Dhabi mission revealed that Rs 4.95 crore was spent during PM Modi’s visit to the UAE from February 13 to 15, 2024. The embassy also confirmed the organization of ‘Ahlan Modi’, a community interaction event led by the Indian diaspora.
The Moscow mission disclosed that Rs 15.36 crore was spent on PM Modi’s two visits to Russia—one in July, which was combined with Austria, and another in October
The July visit cost Rs 5.12 crore, while the October visit incurred Rs 10.24 crore
Activist raises concerns over lack of transparency
Commodore Batra stated that he had filed RTI queries in November and December 2024 seeking information on the expenditure for PM Modi’s foreign trips. Despite previous disclosures in 2015, many embassies are now refusing to provide this information.
“It is strange that many of the missions which had provided me information on similar RTIs in 2015 are now denying information which is supposed to be in the public domain under proactive disclosures,” Batra remarked.
The remaining embassies are yet to share the cost details of PM Modi’s other foreign visits in 2024.
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