New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) observes the month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, starting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17, to mark 25 years of his public service and unmatched contribution to nation-building, the one aspect that has escaped larger public attention is how the gifts, souvenirs and memorabilia received by him have turned into ‘public good’.
And, this has remained consistent for the past twenty-five years – first as the Gujarat CM since October 2001 and as the Prime Minister from May 2014. The gifts received by him have been monetized, over the years, and the proceeds of which went to fund notable programs including empowerment of girl students, cleaning of river Ganga and others.
The two programs – Kanya Kelavani Nidhi Yojana and Namami Gange yojana, in particular, have become the hallmark of PM Modi’s ‘jan seva’ (public service) as he turned the gifts – shawls, sculptures and more, into “instruments of service”.
As Gujarat CM, he laid the foundation for Kanya Kelavani Nidhi in 2003, under which a dedicated fund was generated for promoting girl’s education and female literacy.
The program seeking to fund girl child education, back in 2003, reflected a true form of seva which only got strengthened in later years through Central programs like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and other skilling and women empowerment programs.
Kanya Kelavani Nidhi collected funds from the auction of gifts received by the then Gujarat CM and years later, it became a formal scheme named Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana (MYSY). Formally launched in 2017-18, the scheme supports the girls who secure admission to MBBS through NEET. The eligible female medical students receive 50% of the tuition fee, through MYSY.
Namami Gange program – launched in 2014, is the nation’s most ambitious attempt to restore the Ganga to its glorious past and unpolluted self.
Namami Gange has been an ambitious project to revive and rejuvenate the sacred river and its tributaries. The project may be far from realizing its goal for whatever reasons, the Prime Minister’s gifts auction has consistently contributed to this cause.
The proceeds from PM Mementos e-Auction, launched in January 2019, are directly dedicated to Namami Gange Programme.
According to government estimates, the auction has raised more than Rs 50 crore for the Namami Gange Project through its previous editions.
This year also, the eighth edition features nearly 1,500 curated gifts – which will run through October 31 and the collections will go for the river cleaning project.
Interestingly, a gamut of gifts placed in the National Gallery of Modern Art, are priced at a humble tag of as low as Rs 200, allowing ordinary Indians to own a fragment of history rather than a fragment of gold.
Besides the benevolence and symbolism, this shows the spirit of public seva, as championed by PM Modi over the past 25 years of his public life. Through the pan-India and month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyaa’, the party leaders and workers seek to educate and inform the people not just Modi government’s accomplishments but also about selfless service like these.
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, during the launch of PM Mementos e-Auction 2026, put it aptly, stating that PM Modi believes, “Whatever is received is not mine; whatever is given to me is not mine; and I have no right to hoard what is not mine”.
He further credited the Prime Minister for turning the auction of personal gifts into a channel for public participation and a national cause.
–IANS
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