New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as many as 101 valuable antiquities that were seized from smugglers by different field formations of the Customs Department.

The antiquities included an idol of Lord Vishnu (Perumal) belonging to the late medieval period.

Some of these antiquities will be displayed at 'Dharohar' -- the National Museum of Customs & CGST in Goa.

The Finance Minister virtually presided over the handing-over ceremony held at seven different locations, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Guwahati.

The minister also released a brochure 'Puravshesh ke Prahari', depicting select antiquities that were a part of the ceremony.

The Finance Minister pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making sure that stolen artefacts and antiquities are brought back to India from various countries for which bilateral negotiations keep on taking place.

Many artefacts and antiquities have been brought back in recent times and with these 101 seized articles of antiquities, Customs is contributing to India's rich history.

Sitharaman further said that the Customs Department and formations under it are the 'guardians of the economic frontiers'.

In her closing remarks, the Finance Minister emphasised on handling of the religious texts, artefacts, antiquities with due care and dignity due to their sensitive state and historical context by the officials concerned.

Two of the notable antiquities that were handed over include Palm Leaf Manuscript having 155 leaves with hard wooden supporting covers at top and bottom.

It is said to be composed in classical Champu with metres and rhythms in modern Odia script and language.

Another manuscript that has been handed over, comprises 17 leaves made of hand-made paper written in Devanagari script appearing to contain Buddhist texts.

These were seized in the year 2019 and 2020 while being attempted to be exported to Spain and France, respectively.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra; CBIC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal; Members of the Board (CBIC); Director General of ASI, Yadubir Singh Rawat were also present on the occasion.

In his address on the occasion, Secretary, Department of Revenue, Sanjay Malhotra underlined the historical, artistic, and societal value of antiquities and highlighted the twin role of Customs and ASI officials in detection and thwarting of attempts of illegal export of antiquities.

In his address, Agarwal highlighted the need for the use of technology and inter-agency coordination as well as international cooperation in busting the international smuggling syndicates.