The gifts forwarded to the toshakhana, a repository managed by the external affairs ministry, include a Rs 9-lakh Rolex watch, a Rs 1.2-lakh jewellery set, a Rs 35,000 bracelet, and a Mughal-era coin Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Singh last October.
All the six gifts Singh has taken home are tea sets.
None of the tea sets is that expensive. They are valued below Rs 5,000 — the limit above which the recipients will have to pay the difference if they want to retain them, according to government documents listing gifts from foreigners declared by all Indian officials and representatives between July and December 2013.
Singh's choices offer a rare peek into the Prime Minister's private life and preferences, which he has kept away from the limelight despite holding the top job for 10 years.
“I can tell you that Dr Singh and Mrs Gursharan Kaur greet personal guests with tea at their home,” a close friend of the Prime Minister's family told The Telegraph. “I can't say why the Prime Minister has chosen tea sets, but yes, I've always felt that Mrs Kaur, in particular, has an affinity for tea.”
Singh, too, drinks tea but with artificial sweeteners as he is diabetic, said an official who has travelled with the Prime Minister on several trips.
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