Neeraj Chopra's Javelin, PV Sindhu's Racket Under Hammer: Ministry of Culture Organises E-auction of Gifts on PM Modi's B'day

To mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 71st birthday, along with country-wide celebration, the government is organising an e-auction of gifts and mementos received by the PM in the past two years on Friday.

The e-auction is managed by the Ministry of Culture where as many as 1,300 items will be auctioned- including the javelin thrown by Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, which he had recently presented to the PM. The Indian Express quoted sources saying that the base price of the javelin is expected to be around Rs 75 lakh, and that they are expecting it to fetch above crores.

The auction will also showcase the T-shirt worn by Avani Lakhera which has a base price of Rs 15 lakh, the javelin thrown by Sumit Antil and Chopra which have a base price of Rs 1 crore each. Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves have a base price of Rs 80 lakh while a stole with signatures of Tokyo Olympic players carries a base price of Rs 90 lakh. Gold medalist PV Sindhu’s badminton bag and racket, which she gifted to PM Modi will also be included. Sindhu created history by securing back-to-back medals at the Olympics 2020 and 2016. The base price of the bag and racket is Rs 80,000.

The auction will also include an acrylic painting on two panels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mahatma Gandhi with a tricolor background, which is priced for Rs 25 lakh. The proceeds from the e-auction will go towards the Namami Gange Mission, aimed at conserving and rejuvenating the river Ganga. Several other paintings that artists gifted to PM Modi on various occasions will also be auctioned, the based price for the artworks ranged from Rs 3 lakh- Rs 25 lakh.

READ MORE: PM Narendra Modi’s Gifts go Under the Hammer; Bhavani Devi’s Fence, Krishna Nagar’s Racquet Received Rs 10 Crore Bids

There are also other models of important buildings, sculptures, paintings, and souvenirs that the PM received from visiting dignitaries and during important functions over the last two years.

The last auction was conducted in September 2019, where as many as 2,770 objects went under the hammer. It included paintings, sculptures, shawls, jackets, and traditional musical instruments. The proceeds from the auction were also donated to the Namami Gange Mission.

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