Nepal Unveils New Currency Note with Indian Areas, Including Kalapani

In a move likely to escalate tensions with India, Nepal on Friday announced the printing of a new ₹100 currency note featuring a map that includes the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani.

"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 ₹100 denomination banknotes," government spokesperson Rekha Sharma told media persons while briefing about the cabinet decision.

Sharma, who is also the Minister for Information and Communication, added, "The cabinet approved to re-design the banknote of ₹100 and replace the old map printed in the background of the banknote during the cabinet meetings held on April 25 and May 2."

This development comes after Nepal completed the process to update its political map by incorporating the three strategically important areas through a constitutional amendment on June 18, 2020, a move that India had sharply reacted to, calling it a "unilateral act" and terming the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims as "untenable."

India maintains that Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura belong to its territory.

The move to feature the controversial map on the Nepalese currency is expected to further strain relations between the two neighboring countries, which share a border of over 1,850 km across five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.