"Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai from January 28, last year to January 28, 2016. Now government is releasing a commemorative coin of Rs 150 and circulation coin of Rs 10," he said here.
Known as 'Punjab Kesari', Lala Lajpat Rai was a member of the Indian National Congress who gave his life for the independence of India.
Born on January 28, 1865 in Dhudike village in Moga district in Punjab, he was at the forefront of the protest against Simon Commission and was injured in a lathicharge by British police, resulting in his death on November 17, 1928.
"It was his dream...Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country will move forward with good governance with transparency and development," he said.
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Sharma said as part of the year long commemoration, a number of programmes were held in different parts of the country.
The Rs 150 coin is made of quaternary alloy with diameter of 44 mm and weight of 35 gram and the Rs 10 coin is made up of bi-metallic material with diameter of 27 mm and weight of 7.71 grams.
Five national seminars in Karnataka and one international seminar at New York were approved for the commemoration, it said.
Besides, Punjab National Bank, which was founded by Rai, has undertaken a variety of activities throughout the country with special focus on Punjab.
The Punjab government has been sanctioned an amount of Rs 5 crore for construction of an auditorium and Rs 3 crore for installation of astroturf flooring in hockey stadium at Rai's birth place, it said.