Kolkata, June 27: A commemorative coin of Rs 125, along with circulation coin of Rs 5 denomination coin, will be released by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday - when the National Statistics Day will be observed. The coin is being unveiled as a mark of honour towards Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, the legendary scientist and statistician who founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931. Mahalanobis' birth anniversary is observed as Statistics Day annually.

On the occasion, the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, in coordination with the ISI, will conduct an event in Kolkata to honour Mahalanobis' contribution. At the same event, the Rs 125 coin will be unveiled by Naidu.

The observation of Statistics Day began in 2007, after the government designated a special day to honour the contribution of Mahalanobis. The theme for Statistics Day this year is 'Quality Assurance in Official Statistics'.

Earlier, a hoax news went viral on social media of the government releasing Rs 125 coin for circulation purpose.

Rs 125 commemorative coins, however, have been released earlier as well by the government to honour the icons in Indian public life. The last such release came on the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 to honour the Dalit icon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2018 08:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).