Gifts to PM Modi to be auctioned online, proceeds to go to 'Namami Gange'

Gifts given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to be auctioned online beginning September 14 with proceeds going towards the Namami Gange project, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said on Wednesday.

Over 2,772 gift items received by Modi in the past six months will be put under the hammer on the e-portal launched for this purpose.

"The e-auction will end on October 3. The lowest base price of the gift item is Rs 200 and the highest is more than Rs 2 lakh," he said.

The Minister further stated that the auction will include idols of Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Veer Shivaji, Vivekananda, 576 shawls, 964 angavastram, 88 pagris and several other items.

Among the items set to go under the hammer is a silk print of the face of the Prime Minister, whose base price is set at Rs 2.50 lakh.

The gift items are currently on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.

In February this year, over 1,800 mementoes that PM Modi had received were sold.

Even as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi used to auction mementoes received by him and after becoming Prime Minister, he has been continuing the same practice.