Kathmandu: In a provocative move bound to inflame New Delhi, Nepal’s cabinet on Wednesday cleared the release of a redesigned ₹100 banknote that will display a controversial political map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura— territories India firmly administers and considers its own.
The decision, taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, marks the latest chapter in the five-year-old cartographic tussle that erupted after Nepal amended its constitution in 2020 to include these areas in its official map. The new note will replace the current one featuring the map of present-day Nepal with the expanded version that claims roughly 370 sq km of Indian land in Uttarakhand.
Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel confirmed the cabinet’s approval, stating the redesigned note will carry the slogan “Nepal’s map is our pride” alongside the disputed boundaries. The Nepal Rastra Bank is expected to begin printing within weeks.
India swiftly dismissed the move as “unilateral and unacceptable”. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava reiterated that “artificial enlargement of claims” will not alter ground reality. “These areas have always been an integral part of India,” he stressed.
Observers fear the currency gambit could derail the fragile thaw in ties after the 2020 standoff that saw both sides recall ambassadors and suspend flights. With Nepal’s domestic politics heating up ahead of local polls, analysts see Oli playing the nationalist card yet again — now literally putting it in every Nepali wallet.