10 Rupees IX Asian Games

India hosted the Asian Games in New Delhi in November 1982 — the first time the country had done so since the inaugural 1951 Games, also held in Delhi. The event was a major political undertaking under Indira Gandhi's government, with infrastructure built at considerable public expense and the organization managed largely by her son Rajiv, marking his first significant public role before he entered formal politics the following year.

KM#197 is one of several commemorative rupee issues tied to the Games. The 25g copper-nickel fabric was shared across India's commemorative program of the period, keeping production costs predictable at the Bombay and Calcutta mints.