The Ministry of Finance announced on November 8 that all denominations of coins would have the words “75th year of independence” printed in English on the top periphery. The official logo of the ‘azaadi ka amrut mahotsav’ would be located in the centre of the coin’s face.
The Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar will remain on the obverse sides of the Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, and Rs 20 coins, with the legend ‘satyamev jayate’ written below and surrounded by the words Bharat in Hindi and India in English. On the reverse side of the coin, the year of minting shall be displayed in international numbers in the centre of the left periphery.
The rupee symbol will appear on the backside of all coins, along with the denominational value.
“Under the authority of the Central Government, the coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees, and Twenty Rupees shall be coined at the Mint for the issue,” the ministry added. With the publishing of the official gazette, the Coinage of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees, and Twenty Rupees Rules, 2021 will come into force.
The circular Rs 1 coin has a diameter of 20 mm, whereas the circular Rs 2 coin has a diameter of 23 mm. The Rs 5 circular coin has a diameter of 25 mm, whereas the Rs 10 circular coin has a diameter of 27 mm. The Rs 20 coin, on the other hand, is a 27-mm-diameter 12-edged polygon.
The new Rs 20 coin was revealed by the government in March 2019, over ten years after the release of the Rs 10 denomination.
According to the Coinage Act of 1906, the Government of India has sole authority to mint coins and bears responsibility for coinage. The government is also responsible for designing and minting coins in various denominations.
Coins are minted at the four Indian Government Mints at Mumbai, Alipore (Kolkata), Saifabad (Hyderabad), Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and Noida (UP).