First time ever: Govt to come out with Rs 20 coins
New Delhi, Mar 7: The Government will come out with the first ever Rs 20 coin which will be shaped like a 12-edged polygon with design of grains to denote farm dominance in the country.
Besides, new series of one, two, five and ten rupees coins too would be minted, which will be circular in design and have denominations written in Hindi script.
Later in a tweet, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday released the new series Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 coins.
"These coins contain design features which will be of great assistance to visually impaired persons," Jaitley said.
He further said, the Government, in 2015, had released a new series of banknotes which incorporated braille like signs for the benefit of visually impaired persons.
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said, the new coins would be easily distinguishable from old coins.
The exact date of issuance of these new series coins is yet to be announced.
The Rs 20 coin will weigh 8.54 gm and its outside diameter will be 27mm with the outer ring made of nickel silver and the centerpiece of Nickel brass, a finance ministry notification said.
The face of the new Rs 20 coin shall bear the 'Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar' with 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below. The left periphery will have the word 'Bharat' in Hindi and the right periphery will have the word 'India' in English.
The reverse side of the coin would have the denominational value '20' in the international numerals along with the Rupee symbol.
"The design of grains depicting the agricultural dominance of the country is flanked on the left periphery of the coin," the notification said.
The year of minting in international numerals shall be shown on centre of left periphery of the coin, it added.
According to the notification the new Rs 10 coin will have a outside diameter of 27 mm and weigh 7.74 gm, while the Rs 5 coin will have a diameter of 25 mm and weight of 6.74 gms.
The new series one rupee and two rupees coin will weigh 3.09 gm and 4.07 gm, while the diameter would be 20 mm and 23 mm respectively.
The face of all these coins shall bear the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar with the 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below, flanked on the left periphery with the word 'Bharat' in Hindi and on the right periphery with the word 'India" in English.
As per Coinage Act, 1906, the Government of India has the sole right to mint coins and the responsibility for coinage vests with the Government. The designing and minting of coins in various denominations is also the responsibility of the Government.
Coins are minted at the four India Government Mints at Mumbai, Alipore (Kolkata), Saifabad (Hyderabad), Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and Noida (UP).
The coins are issued for circulation only through the Reserve Bank in terms of the RBI Act.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
