Union Budget 2016-17: Rs100 crore each for birthday celebrations of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Guru Gobind Singh

29 Feb 2016

Arun Jaitley has proposed allocation of initial sums of Rs100 crore each for celebrating the Birth Centenary of Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay and 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

While presenting the General Budget 2016-17 in Lok Sabha today, the Union finance minister said that in 2017, the country will also celebrate the 70th Anniversary of our Independence. Government will chalk out milestones for nation's journey beyond the 70th Anniversary of Independence.

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was born in 1916, while Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of Sikhism, was born in 1666.

The government also plans to celebrate the 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, who was born in May 1540.

Besides, the government would also observe the 200th birth anniversary of Ramachandra Pandurang Tope, better known as Tatya Tope, born in 1814 and was a prominent leader of the 1857 mutiny.

The government had also observed the 150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai and released a commemorative coin of Rs.150 and a circulation coin of Rs.10 on the freedom fighter last month.

Earlier, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma had said the government will celebrate the birth centenaries of personalities of national importance.