14th September, 2019
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has authorised the auctioning of all gifts received in the last six months to fund the Namami Gange project, a central government project for cleansing, conserving and rejuvenating river Ganga.
Shawls, portraits, silverware, headgear and swords are among the 2772 gifts received by Modi that would be auctioned online from today, according to Deccan Chronicle.
The base price of the mementoes is Rs 200 and the highest is Rs 2.5 lakh.
Prahlad Joshi, Culture Minister said: “The gifts received by the PM in the last six months will be auctioned. This time the auction will be completely online. I thank the PM for giving us this opportunity. The minimum reserved price for the items is Rs 200 while the highest is Rs 2.5 lakh.”
The gifts are currently on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in central Delhi’s Jaipur House. Those interested can log on to the website pmmementos.gov.in to register and participate in the auction
One of the attractions of the auction is a portrait of Modi, at a base price of Rs 2.5 lakh, done on silk and gifted by the owner of Seematti textiles Beena Kannan.
The mementos include 576 shawls, 964 angavastram (clothes), 88 pagris (head-dress)and various jackets portraying the diversity of India. Each item has been evaluated by experts to fix the base price.
In January, over 1,800 gifts received by the prime minister were sold in a fortnight-long auction in which 4000 bidders participated.
