$20,000 diamond from Narendra Modi tops Biden family's 2023 gift list
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gift of a 7.5-carat lab-grown diamond, valued at $20,000 (approximately ₹17 lakh), was the most expensive gift received by the Biden family in 2023, according to an annual disclosure by the US State Department. The diamond, encased in a Kashmiri papier-mâché box, was presented to First Lady Jill Biden during Modi's visit to the US in June 2023. It now resides in the White House East Wing for official use.
In the same visit, Modi also gifted President Joe Biden a carved sandalwood box, a book titled The Ten Principal Upanishads, a statue, and an oil lamp worth a combined $6,232. Additionally, in November 2022, he had presented Biden with a painting valued at $1,000.
Other notable gifts from the Indian government include a $850 wall hanging presented to Kurt Campbell, US Deputy Secretary of State, and latticework and camel bone boxes worth $125 each to Senators Mitch McConnell and Charles Schumer.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval gifted his American counterpart Jacob Sullivan a $485 silver jaguar statue and a $638 wooden elephant structure in January and July 2023, respectively. Meanwhile, Deputy NSA Rajinder Khanna gifted items such as a silver elephant sculpture worth $3,980 and a $515 silver candlestick set to US officials.
Under US law, foreign gifts exceeding $480 in value must be declared and typically transferred to the National Archives or used for official purposes. Most high-value items from India were retained for White House use, while others were archived.
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Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs
Ahmedabad, Apr 9 (PTI): Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Chasing 218 for a win, the Royals were all out for 159 in 19.2 overs.
Shimron Hetmyer top-scored for RR with a 32-ball 52 while captain Sanju Samson chipped in with a 28-ball 41.
For GT, Prasidh Krishna took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore got two each.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan struck a breezy 82 to help GT post 217 for 6.
Sudharsan's 53-ball innings was studded with eight fours and three sixes, while M Shahrukh Khan and Jos Buttler made 36 each.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 217 for 6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Jos Buttler 36, M Shahrukh Khan 36; Maheesh Theekshana 2/54, Tushar Deshpande 2/53).
Rajasthan Royals: 159 all out in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sanju Samson 41; Prasidh Krishna 3/24, Rashid Khan 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/20).
