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The gifts Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Barack Obama and others got

The gifts Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Barack Obama and others got

By :  DC Correspondent
Update: 2013-11-08 07:03 GMT
Unlike of a country head, Russian President Vladimar Putin did some homework before choosing a gift for his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in September.
Call it mango mania. In 2002, when Pervez Musharraf came to attend the Agra Summit, he came with the best of Pakistani mangoes for the then Indian Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2010, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent 20 kilos of
The easiest gifts--carpets-- were received by foreign secretary Sujatha Singh and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon.
 
The gifts that Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi has received range from filigree white metal decorative item (Rs 4500), wooden rug (Rs 3000) to quilt (Rs 4500).
In the MEA's list the person to receive the least expensive gift is Syed Akbaruddin, JS(XP), MEA. It was two Nepalese Caps worth Rs 200. (Photo for representational purpose only)
 
The most expensive gift Obama had received that year was a blue mask sculpture offered by Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, estimated to be worth $52,695.
And do you know that India gifted US President Barack Obama in 2011? It was a 20-inch octagonal white marble table top with design of inlaid blue and yellow flowers, and octagonal stand decorated with blue and red flowers. It was valued at $1,375.00
The most expensive gift Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has received is a tea set worth Rs 4500. His other gifts include ceramic vase (Rs 3000). The worth of some items like a video player in silver box and Olympic Torch is not mentioned. (Photo
The most expensive gift in the list is a Tissot gents watch worth Rs 9500, which PMO director Sh. Munnu Mahwar claimed it. Another Rs 7500-worth Tissot ladies watch he received is being kept in Toshakhana.
If a gift is below a certain specified amount (how much is not mentioned), the recipient can either keep it or return it. If it is higher, the recipient must pay the excess amount if he wants to claim it.
According to rules, gifts received by delegates will be sent to Toshakhana. After a valuation, it will be decided whether it can be returned to the recipient. (Pic for representational purpose only)
Of 41 items housed in Toshakhana between July-September, seven are carpets and many are decorative items. Toshakhana (translated as treasure house) is an archive of objects received by Indian dignitaries. (Pic for representational purpose only)
Putin's was a rare gesture as normally not so much thought seems to go into the gifts given for foreign dignitaries. What mirrors that fact is the External Affairs ministry's official list of gifts received in Toshakhana between July-September.
Putin delved deep into the history and personally selected 3 gifts -- a painting of Russian Czar Nicholas II, depicting the details of his travails to India in 1890-91, a 16th century map of India and a Mughal era coin.
The gifts Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Barack Obama and others got

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