New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers often travel to foreign countries on official tours.
During such visits, they also receive gifts in their official capacity.
Now, the Ministry of External Affairs has published a list of such gifts and interestingly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has left PM Modi behind when it comes to receiving gifts.
As per a report in Hindi newspaper Jansatta, the list details how many gifts the PM, the External Affairs Minister, the Vice President and other ministers and officials have received this year.
Swaraj, who is very popular among Indian expatriates for helping those in distress, has topped the list with 29 gifts. The total value of these gifts stands at Rs 2.23 lakhs.
The costliest among these gifts is a silver utility box valued at Rs 40,000.
PM Narendra Modi, on the other hand, has received 25 gifts since the start of this year. The costliest among these is a watch worth Rs 18,000.
Meanwhile, it is Vice President Hamid Ansari who has received the most interesting gifts among all.
Ansari, who got a total of nine gifts, also received a ladies purse and ladies dress material.
The costliest gift which he received is a watch valued at Rs 1.5 lakhs and a Rs 59,000 iPhone.
The list also includes the names of Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar who received 17 and 12 gifts, respectively.
Indeed, whoever said official foreign travel is rewarding was not wrong!
