Whose foreign visits were more expensive, PM Modi's or former PM Manmohan Singh's? Here are the numbers

In response to a range of media reports and political attacks citing figures relating to foreign visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP has issued a tweet containing a fact-sheet where "propaganda" has been called out.

BJP's fact sheet directly compares foreign visits of PM Modi and former PM Manmohan Singh and reveals that not only are numbers very comparable but also that PM Modi's trips have been more economical.

Citing media reports, graphic claims:

For former PM Manmohan Singh: Rs 386.35 crores were spent on 31 foreign trips entailing 131 days abro between 2009 and 2013.

For PM Narendra Modi: Rs 387.24 crores were spent on 36 foreign trips entailing 155 days abro between 2014 and 2018.

Breaking down numbers:

Average cost per trip:

Manmohan Singh - Rs 12.45 crore

Narendra Modi - Rs 10.75 lakh

Average cost per day spent abro:

Manmohan Singh - Rs 2.94 crore

Narendra Modi - Rs 2.49 crore

Earlier in July, Goa Congress h, in an attempt to make a point, written to Guinness World Records nominating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a record of “highest number of foreign trips”.

RE | Here’s Why Goa Congress Has Recommended PM Modi's Name For Guinness World Records

At that time, Congress h claimed that PM h visited 52 countries over 41 trips in four years at an expense of Rs 355 crore. That statistic is even more favourable to PM Modi in terms of cost per trip than BJP's fact-sheet states. 

As per PMO's website, as of June 9, 2018, PM Modi h me 42 foreign visits. This doesn't account for Prime Minister's three-nation visit to Africa for BRICS Summit from which he returned on Saturday morning.

Precise figures unclear:

re are varying reports regarding precise expenditure on both Prime Ministers' visits.

• An RTI request h revealed that a total bill of Rs 642 crore h been incurred on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s air travels abro in first nine years that he was at helm.
• Meanwhile, in response to a question in Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Ministry h stated that expenditure on air travel (chartered flights) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits h totalled Rs 1,484 crore.