NRB Puts Rs 100 Banknote with Updated National Map into Circulation

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has, for the first time, introduced a Rs 100 banknote featuring Nepal’s revised national map, which includes the Kalapani and Limpiyadhura regions.

According to the central bank, the new note entered circulation on Thursday, November 27. The updated map is printed at the center of the note.

NRB spokesperson Guru Prasad Paudel said the revised map has been incorporated only on the Rs 100 denomination, in line with the government’s earlier decision to update Nepal’s official cartography.

The central bank typically issues notes in seven denominations, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

Paudel said 300 million pieces of the new Rs100 notes were supplied by China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation. These have now been released into circulation.

Nepal updated its official map in 2020 after India published a political map incorporating the Kalapani region. The Nepal government under then–prime minister KP Sharma Oli subsequently amended the constitution to formalise the inclusion of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura within Nepal’s territory, a move that further strained relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi.

The newly circulated note retains the same color and dimensions as the previous series. It features an image of Mount Everest on the left and a watermark of the rhododendron, Nepal’s national flower, on the right. The center carries the updated national map along with an image of the Ashoka Pillar.

To make the note more accessible for people with visual impairments, a tactile black mark has been added beside the Ashoka Pillar. A silver metallic image of Maya Devi is placed inside an oval on the left side.

For security, the note contains a 2-millimetre-wide security thread that appears red when viewed straight on and green when tilted.