Govt to issue Rs 100, Rs 5 coins to commemorate MGR birth centenary

A finance ministry notification said the coins will be issued under the authority of the central government to commemorate the occasion of MG Ramachandran birth centenary.

The government will issue Rs 100 and Rs 5 coins to commemorate the birth centenary of Bharat Ratna awardee and former Tamil Nadu chief minister late M G Ramachandran.

Indian currency coins seen in this picture. (Reuters)

The coins will bear his portrait in the centre along with the inscription ‘DR M G Ramachandran Birth Centenary’ on the lower periphery. The same will also be in Devnagari script on the upper periphery.

“The coins of the denominations (Rs 100 and Rs 5) shall also be coined at the Mint for issue under the authority of the central government to commemorate the occasion of M.G. Ramachandran birth centenary,” the finance ministry said in a gazette notification dated September 11, notifying the rules on “Coinage of One Hundred Rupees and Five Rupees coins”.

The year ‘1917-2017’ will be flanked below the portrait of Dr M G Ramachandran, said the notification issued in this regard.

On the obverse side, the coins will bear the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar in the centre with the inscription ‘Satyamev Jayte’.

The Rs 100 and Rs 5 coins will weigh 35 grams and 6 grams, respectively.

The Rs 100 coin will be made of silver (50 per cent), copper (40 per cent), nickel (5 per cent) and zinc (5 per cent).

Ramachandran, popularly known as ‘MGR’, was the founder of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party, currently ruling in Tamil Nadu.

A film actor and a three-time chief minister, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1988.