On the occasion of Republic Day every year, the
Government honours people for their work
of any distinction and exceptional achievements/service in all fields of
activities/disciplines, such as Art, Literature and Education, Sports,
Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service,
Trade and Industry etc. These awards can be the highest Civilian Awards like Bharat Ratna, Padma Awards, military awards
like Param Veer Chakra, police medals for gallantry, bravery awards to list a
few. But hundreds of craftsman who spend days and night in cutting, carving,
burning, polishing metal to give final shape to these medals remain in the
background at the India Government Mint
in Kolkata.
SPMCIL
Security Printing and
Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) was formed after corporatisation
of nine units including four mints, four presses and one paper mill which were
earlier functioning under the Ministry of Finance. SPMCIL, a Miniratna Company
of the Government, is engaged in the manufacture of security paper, minting of
coins, printing of currency and bank notes, non-judicial stamp papers, postage
stamps, travel documents, etc. The Company meets the requirements of RBI for
Currency Notes and Coins and State Governments for Non-Judicial Stamp Papers
and Postal Departments for postal stationery, stamps etc. and Ministry of
External Affairs for passports, visa stickers and other travel documents. Other
products are civilian, military, police, sports, film festival medals/decorations,
commemorative coins, MICR and Non-MICR cheques etc. All the 9 units are
categorised as Currency Printing Presses, Security Printing Presses, Security
Paper Mill and India Government Mints. The Mints situated at Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Kolkata and Noida have rich minting heritage and legacy of producing quality
products. These mints are carrying out minting of all coins circulated in the
country.
The India Government Mint, Kolkata
The India Government Mint, Kolkata was first established in 1757, and was located in a
building in the old fort - where the GPO (General Post Office) stands today. It was called the Calcutta Mint and used to produce coins with the mint name Murshidabad.The second Calcutta Mint was established at the site of
Gillet Ship building Establishment and the coins issued from this mint
continued to bear mint name Murshidabad. The third Calcutta Mint on Strand Road
opened for production from 1 August 1829 (Silver Mint). Until 1835 the coins
issued at this mint continued to be in the name of the Murshidabad Mint. In
1860 an annexe known as the "Copper Mint" was built to the north of
the Silver Mint for the exclusive production of copper coins. The silver and
copper mints both used to function and produce coins of bronze, silver and gold. Apart from minting of coins another important function of
the Kolkata Mint was the manufacturing of medals and decorations during the British regime. The production
of medals continues to this day.
After the closure of this mint in 1952, the present Alipore Mint
was opened by the then Finance Minister of Government of India Shri. C. D. Deshmukh on 19 March 1952. The full operation for the coinage and preparation of
medals, decorations and badges started in Alipore Mint from this date. As on
date this mint produces coins of Rs.1,2,5,10 denominations in addition to their
contribution in the production of a variety of civilian,military,sports,police
etc,. medals.
Prominent among
these medals are the highest Civilian
Awards like Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, military
awards like Param Veer Chakra,etc,.
Bharat
Ratna
‘Bharat Ratna’, the highest civilian award of the country, was
instituted in the year 1954. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional
service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. The
number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular
year. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate)
signed by the President and a medallion. The decoration is in the form of a Peepal
leaf, about 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick. It is of
toned bronze. On its obverse is embossed a replica of the sun, 1.6 cm in
diameter, below which the words Bharat
Ratna are embossed in Devanagari script. On the reverse are State emblem and the motto, also
in Devanagari. The emblem, the sun and the rim are of platinum. The
inscriptions are in burnished bronze.
Padma Awards
Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954 and these awards are
announced every year on Republic Day.
The award is given in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma
Bhushan and Padma Shri. Padma Shri is
awarded for ‘distinguished service’; Padma Bhushan for ‘distinguished service
of a high order’; and Padma Vibhushan for ‘exceptional and distinguished
service. The decoration comprises a Sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand
and seal of the President and a Medallion. A commemorative brochure giving out
brief details in respect of each award winner is also released on the day of
the investiture ceremony.
·
Padma Vibhushan:
Medal is circular in design with a geometrical pattern superimposed on the
circle. The diameter of the circular portion is 4.4 cm and the thickness is
about 0.6 mm. On the obverse there is a lotus flower embossed in the circular
shape. The word ‘Padma’ is embossed in Hindi above and the word ‘Vibhushan’
below the lotus are in burnished bronze. All embossing on either side of
decoration is in ‘White Gold’.
·
Padma Bhushan: Design
same as Padma Vibhushan medal but the embossing on either side is in standard
gold.
·
Padma Shri:
Same design as other Padma medals but all embossing on either side of the
decoration is in stainless steel.
Not to be left out are various military decorations, police
/bravery medals, Commonwealth Games medals, international film festival awards
like Golden Peacock etc,. from the glorious collection of medals produced at
this illustrious plant in Kolkata.
The India Government Mints
have made a niche in the minting world - with excellence in design, expertise
in minting precious metals, and above all, a long tradition of craftsmanship.
Reliability is combined in a natural manner in design and production of
individualistic solution that truly reflect the customers' values.
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