US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Tuesday. The two leaders held talks on various issues and announced several deals, ranging from defence to semiconductors. Notably, this is Prime Minister Modi’s first state visit to the United States.
While the ties between the two nations have been in the spotlight during the visit, gifts exchanged by the two leaders personally have also garnered attention. Ranging from lab-grown diamond to a vintage American camera, the leaders officially presented each other several valuable gifts.
However, some have wondered what happens to these gifts received during official foreign visits. Are they retained by the leaders or submitted to the government?
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What Do The Rules Say?
In India, the rules require that any gift received during an official visit has to be submitted to government’s Toshakhana. This needs to be done within 30 days after the official has returned from the visit. After the gift is submitted, the authorities assess the value of the gift. According to reports, any gift whose assessed value is below Rs 5,000 is returned to the recipient. However, if the person wants to retain the gift over this value, they can pay the difference between the limit and the assessed value of the gift. Importantly, gifts of symbolic value can be retained by the recipient. Ministry of External Affairs maintains a list of gifts submitted to the government which can be accessed from its website.
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United States also has similar rules on official gifts. Presidents also have to return gifts if the market value exceeds $480. However, they can buy the gifts if they are willing to pay the market value. The gifts are reportedly kept in National Archives or the Presidential Library.
The gifts exchanged during Prime Minister Modi’s visit will also be regulated by these rules. PM Modi gifted President Biden first edition copy of ‘The Ten Principal Upanishads’ translated by WB Yeats. The prime minister also presented a 7.5 karat lab-grown diamond in a Kashmiri papier mache box to US First Lady. The list of gifts also included a sandalwood box which contained an idol of Lord Ganesh, diya, a copper plate and das danams (10 donations).
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden gifted PM Modi an antique book galley, vintage American camera, signed first edition copy of ‘Collected Poems Of Robert Frost’ and archival facsimile print of George Eastman’s Patent of the first Kodak camera.
