New Delhi: The third edition of the e-auction of prestigious and memorable gifts presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi will close on Thursday. In the ongoing auction through the web portal https://pmmementos.gov.in, historical items, and religious artifacts seem to have drawn more interest, while sports gears of Olympians have received the highest bids.
The online auction had started on September 17.
What are the highest bids received so far?
Neeraj Chopra’s javelin that brought him the gold medal went on to receive the highest bid so far, according to PM Mementos website. With a base price of Rs 1,00,00,000 (1 crore or 10 million), it currently stands at Rs1,00,50,000, according to the website. The javelin has received two bids so far.
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As per the website, javelin autographed by Neeraj Chopra was presented to PM Modi. The javelin received the highest bid of Rs10 crore on an opening day (October 4), but it was later canceled on the suspicion of a fake bid.
While the other javelin used by Paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil, with a base price of Rs1 crore, has received a bid of Rs1,00,20,000 from one bidder. A badminton racquet autographed by Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games gold medallist Krishna Nagar also received the highest bid of Rs80.15 lakh but there were only three bidders.
The badminton racquet used by Indian ace shuttle PV Sindhu at the Tokyo Olympics also evinced interest among bidders. Sindhu became the first Indian female athlete to get back-to-back medals in the Olympics.
How are bidding received on religious items?
A small metallic figurine depicting Lord Rama, Hanuman, Laxman, and Goddess Sita, titled Bhagwan Ram Parivar, received 44 bids, with the highest being Rs 1.35 lakh. Its base price was only Rs 10,000. While a wooden model of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya witnessed 24 bids coming in. The temple's base value was Rs 2,50,000.
A metal mace with a base price was Rs 2,500 has received 54 bids, with the highest at Rs 5 lakh.
Apart from religious items, a large-scale three-dimensional replica model of a DRDO tank placed inside a glass box has received 23 bids, with the highest being ₹5 lakh. Its base price was Rs75,000. So far, of the 1,348 mementos around 1,083 items have received bids.
After the auction ends on October 7, the government will notify the highest bidders through email.
In the last auction in 2019, as many as 2,770 objects went under the hammer. These included paintings, sculptures, shawls, jackets and traditional musical instruments. The proceeds were donated to the Namami Gange Mission.