‘Kathmandu’s decision will not change….,’ says S Jaishankar on Nepal’s new currency notes

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised Nepal’s decision to print a new Rs-100 currency note featuring a map that includes areas under Indian control, describing it as a unilateral move. He also stated that Kathmandu’s decision would not alter the situation or the ground reality.

On May 3, Nepal announced the issuance of a new Rs 100 currency note featuring a map that includes the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani—a move previously condemned by India as “artificial enlargement” and “untenable.”

“Our position is very clear. With Nepal, we are having discussions about our boundary matters through an established platform. In the middle of that, they unilaterally took some measures on their side,” the EAM asserted.

The council of ministers, chaired by Nepali Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda,’ decided to introduce the new map of Nepal on the Rs 100 banknotes.

This decision stirred anger from the government in Kathmandu at the time, led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. In response, Nepal released a new map incorporating an area of 370 square kilometers at the tri-junction of Nepal, India, and China, which India asserts as its territory.

A temporary breakdown in communication between the two nations followed after Nepal’s parliament passed a Constitution amendment Bill to legitimize the alteration to the country’s map by adding Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura.

The recent decision by the Prachanda government has faced skepticism and criticism domestically. Former diplomats and past Governors of the Nepal central bank have openly criticised it as “unwise” and “provocative.”

Chiranjibi Nepal, former Governor of Rastra Bank and economic advisor to President Ram Chandra Poudel, expressed to the publication that the decision made by the Nepal government is untimely and lacks consideration of its broader implications.