More than half a century later, a British company has approached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with a proposal to retrieve the gold worth around Rs 1,200 crore from the seas off Mumbai.

Sources in the PMO said they, or any other government agency has not studied the proposal. But it's not that easy. The proposal has to be studied in the light of international conventions as the gold that remains buried in the ocean was the property of the British Government. As per international conventions, any property retrieved from the sea has to be returned to the country of origin.

The United Kingdom, however, is reportedly not a signatory to the convention.

The UK-based company, in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, has suggested that the gold if retrieved could be shared evenly by India andthe British Government.

The company has given feelers that the quantity of gold at the Mumbai seabed may be much more than their estimates. The firm has offered to use the latest technology to locate the ship and retrieve the gold from its cargo haul. The company has extended the offer to bear all the costs at the initial stage. According to it, the Government of India and the firm could evenly share the gold after adjusting the expenses to be incurred by it.

The sources said that the government was estimating whether the deal would really be profitable for India or not. As per the firm's proposal almost three-fourths of retrieved gold would go to the UK, as its government's share and the share of the company.

India is likely to take a decision on the proposal shortly, sources added.