Obama’s trip to India won’t cost $200 million a day. That estimate came from a single media source in India and went viral, although it has little basis in fact.

Obama is starting an Asian trip that includes visits to South Korea, Indonesia, and Japan. President Obama is not running away because he took a shellacking either.

Obama will also visit Indonesia the largest Muslim majority nation and South Korea, the site of a G-20 global economic summit. This year Japan will host the annual Asian economic summit, which was attended by all Obama’s predecessors. There is no evidence that Obama will spend any more than his predecessors.

A spokesman for the White House said the numbers reported in the article are wildly exaggerated. Most costs are related to security and would occur whether the president visits India or any American city.

This trip is not the escapism pleasure cruise being portrayed by some media outlets. Obama’s trip to India is about trade, investments, and jobs. Obama is going to India because its booming economy offers investors in the U.S. major opportunities. The president will be accompanied by over 200 business executives.

Obama’s trip to India is critical to U.S. interests politically and economically. Being located next to Pakistan, and an intense rival of that dangerous nation, any president will be dealing with India. Add to that its exploding trillion-dollar economy and establishing a healthy trade relationship is vital to the U.S. economy and jobs.

If Tuesday’s election sent any message at all to the White House, it was that Americans are concerned about jobs and the economy. As such, Obama’s trip to India couldn’t be more timely.

Image: Farewell India – The Taj Mahal on Flickr