NEW DELHI: The Kerala temple treasure find keeps getting bigger. It has already captured the imagination of the country and has stirred a debate about the value and how it should be deployed.While a final word is yet to emerge about the exact valuation, reports that have appeared peg it at around Rs 1 lakh crore. The staggering amount can help the cash-strapped Kerala state fund several of its programmes and transform its economy.The amount that is being bandied around could also meet the cost of rolling out the Food Security Act (around Rs 70,000 crore) and the rural job guarantee scheme spending of Rs 40,000 crore.If deployed for economic benefits, it could meet the Centre's education budget for two-and-a-half years and is Rs 82,000 crore more than what the government hopes to collect this year. It can help meet the central government interest and debt payment liability for over four months and is equivalent to seven month's defence spending.Experts say the value of the treasure trove could be more if the antique value is taken into account. An independent evaluation by international experts could push up the valuation significantly while it may fetch a premium from investors if it is auctioned because of the religious sentiments and heritage value.The value so far is more than the budget of three states — Delhi, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand and at least 50% higher than Posco's proposed investment of $12 billion (Rs 54,000 crore) in India. It equals BP's investment plans of $20 billion (Rs 90,000 crore) in India, including acquisition of a stake in Reliance Industries' oil and gas acreages. The value is equal to nearly one-third the market value of India's top firm, Reliance Industries Ltd, and almost equal to software giant Wipro's market capitalization of Rs 1.04 lakh crore.
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