1998 - Sri Gulzarilal Nanda | Unreleased Commemorative Coin

The commemorative coin to mark the Birth Centenary of Sri Gulzarilal Nanda was scheduled for release in 1998. There was a press release from PIB that mentioned principal approval from then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, instead of the commemorative coin, only a commemorative postage stamp was released later in 1999.

Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998) was an Indian politician and economist who specialized in labour issues. He was the caretaker Prime Minister of India for two short periods following the deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966. Both his terms ended after the ruling Indian National Congress's parliamentary party elected a new prime minister. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 1997 a year before his death in 1998.

Notification from PIB, Government of India dated 14-January-1999:

Major Events Planned in the memory of Gulzarilal Nanda

The Government today finalised numerous events in the memory of Shri Gulzarilal Nanda, former Prime Minister. The National Committee constituted to commemorate the birth centenary celebrations of Shri Gulzarilal Nanda in a befitting manner met here today under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said that Shri Gulzarilal Nanda had devoted his life for the welfare of labour class. He was a person of simple tastes and a political saint in the true sense of the term. Referring to the suggestion made earlier by the Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, the Prime Minister said that apart from the release of commemorative stamp and coin, we have to do something new.

IJ/VP/SAK/JAN14991

236/3 (HRD-1999-01-14_022)