PM Modi's mementoes, gifts fetch Rs 1.89 crore at 2025 auction: Culture Minister
Statue of Goddess Bhavani, with base price of Rs 1.03 crore, and model of Ram Temple, worth Rs 5.5 lakh, attract high base prices
The Union government has received Rs 1.89 crore through the auction of mementos and gifts presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2025, Culture Minister Gajendra Shekhwat said in the Lok Sabha.
Replying to a question, Shekhawat said the auctions had fetched Rs 3.1 crore in 2021, Rs 3.6 crore in 2022, Rs 15.8 crore in 2023 and Rs 11.6 crore in 2024.
He said the National Gallery of Modern Arts (NGMA) did not organise any auction of momentoes and gifts received by the Prime Minister before 2019.
In the recent seventh edition, the auction was conducted from September 17, the Prime Minister's birthday, to October 31, 2025, Shekhawat said.
He said more than 1,300 gifts received by PM Modi were put up for auction on the portal www.pmmementos.gov.in. The items include paintings, artefacts, sculptures, idols, handicrafts, tribal art and ceremonial gifts.
“The highlight of the 2025 auction was the inclusion of sports memorabilia gifted by para-athletes from the Paris Paralympics 2024,” the minister said.
Since its inception in 2019, the e-auction of such mementoes has raised more than Rs 50 crore, with all proceeds dedicated to the Namami Gange Project, the government’s flagship initiative for the rejuvenation and conservation of the Ganga.
The mementos are also on display at the NGMA in New Delhi ahead of the auctions.
Among the items that attracted high base prices in the 2025 auction were a statue of Goddess Bhavani, with a base price of Rs 1.03 crore, and a model of the Ram Temple, worth Rs 5.5 lakh, the Ministry of Culture said.
Three pairs of shoes of Paralympics medalists, each with a base price of Rs 7.7 lakh, were also among the top five items by base price.
Other items put up for auction included an embroidered Pashmina shawl from Jammu and Kashmir, a Tanjore painting of Ram Durbar, a metallic Nataraja statue, a Rogan artwork from Gujarat depicting the Tree of Life and a handwoven Naga shawl, the ministry added.
The eighth edition of the e-auction is likely to be held from September 17 this year.
