PM Modi's 76th birthday: 1,500 gifts to go under the hammer. Take a look at the items & prices

Naval destroyers, sacred silver sculptures, and traditional tribal paintings are among nearly 1,500 gifts presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will go under the hammer starting today. The eighth PM Mementos e-auction opens on September 17, coinciding with the Prime Minister's 76th birthday, offering the public a chance to bid on items collected during his travels across the country.

Announcing the event at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in New Delhi, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat revealed that the auction will run through October 31. A curated selection of the 1,498 items will also be open to public display at the NGMA.

Among the standout pieces featured this year are scale models of the Indian Navy's stealth frigate INS Nilgiri and missile destroyer INS Surat — both commissioned in Modi's presence on January 15 last year and gifted to him by the Navy chief.

The ministry has highlighted 50 "hero objects" leading the collection, headlined by a silver memento of Lord Ram from Karnataka carrying a base price of ₹13.50 lakh. Other prized items include a silver replica of the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam listed at ₹9 lakh, a framed Gond art painting of the Tree of Life valued at ₹7.5 lakh, a Lord Jagannath Parivar on a chariot set at ₹6 lakh, and a gold-plated framed Radha Krishna artwork starting at ₹5.40 lakh.

Beyond spiritual and military artifacts, the collection spans sports memorabilia and traditional craftsmanship from states across India, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, and Odisha.

The initiative aims to celebrate the nation's diverse artistic heritage while channeling all proceeds into a major public cause. "The PM Mementos e-auction celebrates India's heritage, art, craftsmanship and cultural diversity, while enabling public participation and contributing towards a significant national cause through the Namami Gange Programme," the culture ministry stated.

Previous iterations have seen substantial public interest, with over 7,400 items auctioned across the first seven editions raising ₹52 crore. In a Lok Sabha response last month, Shekhawat noted that the government raised ₹1.89 crore from the 2025 auction and ₹2.24 crore from the 2024 edition.