Government of India has notified issuance of Commemorative Coins of Rs. 100/- and Rs. 10/- denomination on the eve of Birth Centenary of Dr. M S Subbulakshmi. Commemorative Coins of denominations Rs. 100/- and Rs. 5/- have also been announced on the occasion of Birth Centenary of Dr. M G Ramachandran. Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha had requested Government of India to release Commemorative Coins of Rs.100/- and Rs. 10/- denomination in honour of Dr. M S Subbulakshmi. Similarly the proposal for issuance of commemorative coins for Dr. M G Ramachandran was received from Government of Tamil Nadu. The aforesaid Commemorative Coins will be minted by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
Dr. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi also known as Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi, was a Carnatic vocalist born on 16/09/1916 in Madurai under Madaras Presidency. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, often considered as Asia’s Noble Prize in 1974.
Shri Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran (M.G. Ramachandran) was born on 17th Jan, 1917 in Kandy, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked primarily in Tamil films and also served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu successively for three terms. He made his film debut in the 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi in a supporting role. In the late 1940s he graduated to leading roles and for the next three decades dominated the Tamil film industry. He became a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and rose rapidly through its rank. In 1972, he left the DMK and formed his own party the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK). In 1977 he became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. In 1988, he was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously.