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 the foreign visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has issued a tweet containing a fact-sheet where the "propaganda" has been called out.

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

Citing media reports, the graphic claims:

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

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

Breaking down the numbers:

Average cost per trip:

Manmohan Singh - Rs 12.45 crore

Narendra Modi - Rs 10.75 lakh

Average cost per day spent abroad:

Manmohan Singh - Rs 2.94 crore

Narendra Modi - Rs 2.49 crore

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

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

At that time, the Congress had claimed that the PM had 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 the BJP's fact-sheet states. 

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

Precise figures unclear:

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

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