Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), rahlad Singh Patel inaugurated Exhibition cum E-auction of Gifts Presented to Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, at National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi today.Speaking on the occasion, Shri Patel said that Shri Narendra Modi is the first ever Prime Minister of India, who has decided to auction all the gifts he receives for a noble cause of conserving the lifeline of the country- the river Ganges through Namami Gange. The Culture Minister said that the value of these mementos cannot be measured in monetary terms but the emotional and sentimental values attached to the gifts are high and immeasurable. He also said that a letter will be sent from Government of India to top 20 highest bidders complimenting them for their contribution towards Namami Gange Project .The Union Minister said that this is the 2nd round of E- auction of prestigious and memorable gifts presented to Prime Minister of India. He further said that the exhibition will be held from today to 3rd October 2019 on the web portal www.pmmementos.gov.in. While speaking to the media, the Minister informed that more than 2700 mementos will be E-auctioned in this round.
Around 500 mementos are presently on display entitled “SMRITI CHINH” for the general public at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) from 11am in the Morning till 8pm in the evening. The displayed Mementos will be changed every week. The gift items including Paintings, Memento, Sculptures, shawls, Pagri, Jackets and Traditional musical instruments etc are displayed artistically in the Administrative Wing of the NGMA. The lowest base price of the mementos is Rs. 200/- and the highest is Rs. 2.5 Lakhs, he added.He also informed that the Mementos include 576 Shawls, 964 AngaVastram, 88 Pagris and various jackets portraying the diversified and colourful Culture of our Country. The Amount raised in lieu of the Auction shall be used to support the Project “Namami Gange”, he added. Shri Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Culture was also present during the programme.1st PHASE - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi under the aegis of Ministry of Culture conducted the physical auction of 1800 Mementos received by Prime Minister on several occasions on 27th and 28th January 2019 at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. The remaining items were sold through e-auction.The proceeds raised out of the auction were used for the project “NAMAMI GANGE”.The Major Highlight of the Physical auction organized at NGMA was that a specially handcrafted wooden bike, received a successful bid of Rs. 5 lakhs. A similar bid was also received for a unique painting, which depicts Prime Minister Modi on a railway platform – a uniquely artistic interpretation of Narendra Modi’s special bond with the railways.