Nepal Unveils New ₹100 Note Showing Indian Territories; MEA Reaction

Nepal’s decision to release a redesigned NPR 100 banknote featuring a map that includes three territories claimed by India has reignited a long-standing border dispute between the neighbouring nations. The move has drawn a sharp response from New Delhi, which maintains that Nepal’s updated map is a “unilateral act” that does not reflect or alter the situation on the ground.

On Thursday, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the Himalayan nation’s central bank, unveiled its newly issued NPR 100 note, which incorporates an updated map displaying Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani — regions that India asserts are part of its sovereign territory.

In its public notice, the NRB stated that the new note comes with enhanced security features and refined identification elements designed to improve authenticity and usability. The design had been approved by Nepal’s Cabinet in May 2024 under then–Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The revamped currency retains the size and overall colour scheme of the previous version but includes several design upgrades:

• Mount Everest on the left side
  
• Watermark of the Rhododendron, Nepal’s national flower, on the right
  
• Central placement of Nepal’s updated map and the Ashoka Pillar
  
• Depiction of a one-horned rhinoceros with its calf as the main design element
  
• Tactile black dot near the Ashoka Pillar for visually impaired users
  
• Silver metallic ink illustration of Maya Devi
  
• 2 mm security thread shifting from red to green when tilted
  
• Signature of former NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari
  
• Serial number marked “2081” in Nepali numerals
  

The note forms part of a large-scale printing contract with the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, which was tasked with designing, printing, and delivering 300 million units of the currency. The contract cost is approximately USD 8.99 million — around NPR 1.2 billion — making the printing price of each note roughly NPR 4.04.

The updated banknote is aligned with Nepal’s official map issued in May 2020 through a constitutional amendment. That revision incorporated Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani into Nepal’s territory — a move that India strongly opposed at the time.

Under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, the central bank is responsible for designing currency, but any modification in size or core design requires government approval. This explains the involvement of the Oli-led Cabinet in approving the new map for use on legal tender.

The dispute between India and Nepal over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani stems from differing interpretations of the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, which set the Kali River as the boundary between British India and Nepal.

• India’s Position:
  India maintains the river originates from a stream at Kalapani, placing the disputed region within its own territorial boundary. India has administered the area since the 19th century and continues to govern it today.
  
• Nepal’s Position:
  Nepal argues that the Kali River originates further north at Limpiyadhura, thereby placing Lipulekh, Kalapani, and adjoining areas within Nepalese territory.
  

This disagreement has persisted for decades, occasionally surfacing in political rhetoric or diplomatic exchanges.

Reacting to Nepal’s redesigned 100-rupee note, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the updated map as an attempt to artificially bolster Nepal’s claims.

The MEA stated that Nepal’s cartographic inclusion of Indian territory is a “unilateral act” and emphasised that such moves “do not change the ground reality.” India reiterated that diplomatic dialogue is the only way to resolve outstanding boundary issues and urged Nepal to avoid steps that complicate bilateral relations.

Nepal’s choice to embed the revised map in its currency — a daily-use item circulated nationwide — has been viewed by analysts as a strong symbolic gesture intended to reinforce its territorial stance.

The involvement of a Chinese state-owned company in printing the notes may also add geopolitical texture to the dispute, given Beijing’s growing strategic interest in the Himalayan region.

As the newly designed NPR 100 note enters circulation, India-Nepal boundary tensions, long simmering beneath the surface, have once again moved to the forefront. Whether this leads to renewed negotiations or further diplomatic strain remains to be seen.