"Enlargement Of Territorial Claims Untenable": India On Nepal Currency Row

Nepal unveiled a new 100-rupee note on Thursday that features a revised national map including disputed areas such as the Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura territories. These are regions that India maintains are its own.

The External Affairs Ministry has denounced Nepal's map and said that it is a 'unilateral act' that "does not change ground reality".

The row regarding the map has been ongoing since a year now, and India had cautioned Nepal that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable.

The new note bears the signature of previous Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. The date of issuance of the banknote is 2081 BS, which denotes the previous year, 2024.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has in the past that the issue is being discussed between the countries, and that the "dialogues between Nepal and India regarding boundary, border areas, are ongoing within that framework".

They further added, "On territorial claims, our position remains that such claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence. Any unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable."

New Delhi has upheld that it is open to "constructive interaction" with Kathmandu on resolving boundary issues through "dialogue and diplomacy".

A spokesperson from the Nepal Rastra Bank said that the map was already in the old 100-rupee note and has been revised per the government's decision.

The note features a faint green-coloured map of Nepal in the background at the centre. The Ashoka pillar is printed near the map with the text, "Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha".

On the back, there is a picture of a horned rhino. The banknote also has a security thread and an embossed black dot to help blind people recognise it.

Apart from being cost-effective, Nepal's shift from printing banknotes in India to China was also because the notes feature disputed regions, and it would be a politically sensitive issue for India to print the notes.