PM Modi’s $20,000 diamond was priciest gift US First Lady Jill Biden received in 2023
The prime minister, in an official capacity, gifted United States President Joe Biden presents valued at Rs 5.3 lakh in the same year.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a lab-grown 7.5-carat diamond worth $20,000, or Rs 17.1 lakh, to United States First Lady Jill Biden in 2023, showed an annual accounting report of the US State Department on Thursday.
This was the priciest present a member of the Biden family received from a foreign leader in the year.
In his official capacity, the prime minister also gifted a carved sandalwood box, a statue, an oil lamp and a book titled The Ten Principal Upanishads to President Joe Biden. These gifts, presented during Modi’s state visit, were valued at $6,232 or Rs 5.3 lakh.
In 2022, Modi had gifted Joe Biden a painting valued at $1,000 (Rs 85,782).
“Non-acceptance [of the gifts] would cause embarrassment to donor and US government,” the state department noted.
The diamond was retained for official use in the first lady’s office, the state department said. Most of the other gifts received by the Biden family were sent to the country’s National Archives and Records Administration.
The diamond will also be sent to the national archives after Joe Biden leaves office on January 20, AP quoted the first lady’s Spokesperson Vanessa Valdivia as saying.
The list of gifts, published by the State Department on Thursday, includes two items worth $1,123 that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval gave to his US counterpart...
