JAKARTA – Another overseas trip, another state honour for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Indonesia awarded Modi its highest civilian honour – Bintang Adipurna – on July 7 during his high-profile visit to Jakarta this week, bringing his tally of foreign government awards to at least 35.

As one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers, 75-year-old Modi has now more foreign state honours than his previous counterparts and is one of the most decorated serving leaders in the world. 

In 2026 alone, Modi collected six awards – roughly one a month – including from Slovakia, Norway and Israel.

By comparison, US President Donald Trump has received just one foreign state honour in 2026.

Over his two terms in office, Trump has under 10 foreign state awards, according to publicly available records.

The awards are often a tool of diplomacy between nations, but also hold political value at home by reinforcing Modi’s image as a globally respected statesman, said James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“It’s a tool in forging relations and in strengthening relations and countries do so because they want to strengthen their relationship with India and Modi,” he said. 

Some opposition leaders have criticised Modi’s growing list of awards and questioned the credibility of some of the medals. 

In the Seychelles, the government created the Guardian of the Blue Horizon award just days before presenting it to Modi last week, prompting questions about the medal.

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