NEW DELHI: The Union culture ministry is organising an online auction of gifts and mementos received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The memorabilia will be available on the ministry’s website: pmmementoes.gov.in. Buyers can participate in the e-auction from September 17 to October 7 after registering themselves on the website.
The memorabilia include sports gear and equipment of the medal winning Olympians and Paralympians, and a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Chardham, Rudraksh Convention Centre, models, sculptures, paintings, angavastras among others and is in continuation of a series of such auctions held each year.
The proceeds from the eauction will go to the Namami Gange Mission to conserve and rejuvenate the Ganga.
In 2019, the government had auctioned more than 4,000 gifts received by Modi. The collection of memorabilia displayed at the National Gallery of Modern Art contained a wide array of items ranging from head gears, shawls, portraits, swords gifted by different organisations and chief ministers. Proceeds of earlier auctions were also transferred to the ‘Namami Gange’ programme. A similar auction of gifts received by Modi was held in Gujarat in 2015.