Gifts are being auctioned; proceeds are being used for girl child education in the state
Earlier auctions have fetched Rs.10-cr so far
Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi today deposited about 521 valuables that he received as gifts during the current year, to the government toshakhana (treasury). The value of these items is expected to be around Rs.14-lakh. All the items will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to Kanya Kelavani Nidhi - a special fund for financing education of girl child in the state.
From the beginning of his charge, Mr. Modi has made it a practice to auction the gifts received by him and donate the proceeds for the girl child education. He has so far received 7,994 gifts since November 2011. The nine occasional auctions of 6,634 of these gifts have fetched a sum of around Rs.10-crore.
The gifts deposited today include silver wristlets, golden and silver statues and figurines, artistic chariot, watches, mementos and medals, shawls, turbans, artistic umbrellas, coins, photo frames, swords, bows and arrows, traditional cloths of tribes and other communities and more. Some 48 items among these are of made up of gold and silver which alone are worth Rs.10-lakh.
The time and place of the auction will be announced later by the state government. Earlier the auctions have been held in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Mahesana, Rajkot, Valsad and Vapi.
Kanya Kelavani Nidhi' has been formed with a view give encouragement to girl child education in the state. This special fund has got a huge response from the people of the state and the people have poured more than Rs.48.87-crore into the fund so far. About 42,944 girls have been given various encouragements worth Rs.15.54-crore. The state government also gives Vidhya Lakshmi Bond of Rs.1000 to the girls taking admission in the school and on successful completion of primary school study; the amount with interest is given back to the girls to encourage them for further study. The number of girls who received Vidhya Lakshmi Bond so far has reached to 12.39 lakh. A substantial amount is also given to the girls who take up higher education courses like medical, engineering, PTC and B.Ed and also to those who go for civil service exams.
