Since 2014, Indian officials have received gifts worth ₹17.7 crore

A jewellery set worth ₹6.7 crore given to Sushma Swaraj in 2019 was the costliest gift online received by an Indian official during the Modi years



A newly independent India under Jawaharlal Nehru was known to dispatch elephants as gifts to friendly nations. Mangoes made for another favourite in Nehru’s array of diplomatic offerings. Fast forward seven decades, carefully chosen gifts in the shrewd world of bilateral ties still make news: Narendra Modi began as prime minister by giving the Bhagavad Gita to global leaders. What do Indian leaders get in return?

An age-old foreign policy ritual, gifts range from humdrum to bizarre, and exotic to amusing. Count just the ones Indian officials got in the six years since Modi came to power in 2014, and we have around 2,800 gifts received by over 230 individuals across ministries and the bureaucracy. If sold in the market, they would fetch India at least ₹17.74 crore.

Gifts received by delegates during foreign visits go straight to the toshakhana, the government’s treasure trove. A Mint analysis of all gifts from the Modi years revealed items ranging from expensive jewellery and watches to artefacts and cheap gadgets. 61% of the gifts received between June 2014 and February 2020 were valued below ₹5,000, and less than 4% were worth ₹1 lakh or more, data logs from the toshakhana showed.

A silver diamond emerald jewellery set worth ₹6.7 crore given to Sushma Swaraj in 2019 when she was the minister of external affairs was the costliest gift to India of the period. The prime minister or the foreign minister usually get expensive gifts but in 2018, bureaucrats of their offices ruled the toshakhana, bagging diamond-studded watches worth crores. Thanks to these, the years 2018 and 2019 accounted for the most valuable additions to the toshakhana. Data prior to 2013 is not available on the ministry’s website.

Valued at ₹35 lakh, a box containing a necklace and earrings received by Modi himself in 2015 is among the most expensive of the lot. Cufflinks, crockery, mementos, cultural artefacts, paintings, photos, gadgets, sarees and kurtas, and even liquor have made it to India’s shores in the suitcases of returning ministers and bureaucrats. So have personalized birthday gifts to India online, such as an image of Modi on marble stone and a poem about him in Hindi.



source - https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/since-2014-indian-officials-have-received-gifts-worth-rs-17-7-crore-11598863323856.html