Fresh Provocation? Nepal’s New Banknote Claims These Three Indian Territories As Its Own | World News

Kathmandu: Nepal started distributing the newly minted NPR 100 note on Thursday. The redesigned currency immediately attracted attention for featuring a revised national map that included the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani regions, which India considers to be part of its sovereign territory.

The banknote was launched by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), which stated that the new currency has been designed with updated “security and identification elements to enhance authenticity and usability”. The central bank has issued a public notice confirming that the new 100 rupee note has officially entered public circulation from 27 November.

This redesign has been in the works for over a year. In October last year, NRB handed over the task of printing banknotes to a Chinese company. The Nepal Cabinet, then led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, approved the updated design in May 2024. The contract was awarded to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, a major state-run currency producer in China.

The use of the new map on the banknote follows an important political decision taken more than five years ago. On 20 May 2020, Nepal adopted a revised national map through a constitutional amendment that incorporated Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as part of its territory.

India had rejected the new map on the day it was published, claiming that Nepal had changed the settled border through unilateral action.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “This unilateral action is not based on historical facts and evidence. Resolving unresolved border issues through diplomatic dialogue is against bilateral understanding. This artificial expansion of territorial claims will not be accepted by India.”

The MEA called on Kathmandu to step back from what it called “unfair cartographic claim” and said it was hopeful that Nepal’s leadership would “create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve outstanding border issues”.

New Delhi reiterated its long-standing stance in August this year when Nepal objected to the resumption of India-China border trade through the Lipulekh Pass.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Our stand on this issue has been consistent and clear. Border trade between India and China had started in 1954 through the Lipulekh Pass and was continuing for decades.”

He said that this trade had been interrupted in recent years due to Covid-19 and other developments, and now both parties agreed to continue it. “With regard to territorial claims, our position remains that such claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence. Unilateral artificial expansion of territorial claims is untenable,” he said.

The NRB is responsible for determining the design of Nepal’s banknotes, but any change in design or size requires government approval. The latest redesign combines a variety of visual and tactile features. There is Mount Everest on the left side of the banknote, and the rhododendron watermark, the national flower of the country, on the right side. The centerpiece shows a map of Nepal with the Ashoka Pillar, and the main artwork highlights a one-horned rhino walking with his calf.

A tactile black dot was added near the Ashoka Pillar to help visually impaired people identify denominations by touch. The note continues to use the same colors and dimensions as the previous version and also retains the silver metallic image of the Maya Giant inside the oval on the left.

The currency bears the signature of former Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari and the serial number “2081” is printed in Nepali numerals at the bottom. According to NRB, the Chinese company was responsible for designing, printing, supplying and delivering 300 million notes of 100 rupees.

The total print spend is approximately US$8,996,592, which works out to over NPR 1.2 billion at current exchange rates. This puts the printing cost of each banknote at roughly NPR 4 and 4 paisa.