PM Modi's Birthday: Mementos Gifted To Him Go For E-Auction, Include Neeraj Chopra's Javelin, Lovlina Borgohain’s Boxing Gloves

The Ministry of Culture is organising e-auction of gifts and mementos received by Prime minister Narendra Modi to mark his birthday, today, 17 September.

The proceeds from this e-auction will go towards the Namami Gange Mission. A replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, the Chardham, the Rudraksha Convention Centre, are among the objects on the block for the e-auction. The objects include models of important buildings, sculptures, works of visual art, and souvenirs that PM Modi received from the visiting dignitaries during the last two years.

There are 1,300 items on the block this time, reportedly. Among these is the javelin thrown by Olympic gold medalist from India at the Tokyo Olympic Games Neeraj Chopra. On 16 August, athletes from the Tokyo Olympic games presented to PM Modi sports gear boxing gloves, javelin, and other equipment as mementos. PM Modi informed them then that these would go towards the e-auction.

This report mentions that sources in the Ministry of Culture have said "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 T-shirt worn by gold and bronze winning paddler Avani Lakhera, the javelin thrown by Sumit Antil and Chopra are among the coveted attractions at the e-auction. Javelins from the champs are reported to have a base price of Rs 1 crore each, and Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves have a base price of Rs 80 lakh. The stole that PM Modi received from the Olympians with their signatures on it reportedly carries a base price of Rs 90 lakh.

The last auction was held in September 2019. There were 2,770 objects that went under the hammer. Among these were works of art, sculpture, shawls, jackets, angavastrams and traditional musical instruments.