Nepal's new 100 currency note to feature disputed territories with India

Guwahati, May 4: Nepal revealed its plans to issue a new Rs 100 currency note featuring a map that includes the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani that India has already termed an "artificial enlargement" and labelled "untenable."

Government spokesperson Rekha Sharma, while speaking to the media about the cabinet decision, stated, “The meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ took a decision to print the new map of Nepal, which includes the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani in the Rs 100 denomination bank notes.”

“The cabinet approved to re-design the banknote of Rs 100 and replace the old map printed in the background of the bank note during the cabinet meetings held on April 25 and May 2,” Sharma, who is also the Minister for Information and Communication, was quoted as saying.

Significantly, on June 18, 2020, Nepal finalised the process of updating its political map, which included the integration of three strategically significant regions: Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani. This amendment to the country's Constitution drew sharp criticism from India, denouncing it as a "unilateral act" and dismissing Nepal's claims of territorial expansion as "untenable." India maintains that Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura are within its territory. Nepal shares a border spanning over 1,850 km with five Indian states: Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.