RBI to provide Nepal Rs100 cr in Rs100 notes
07 Jan 2017
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to supply Rs100 crore in Rs100 notes to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in view of the shortage of Indian currency in the country. NRB officials said the new notes will arrive in January itself, PTI reports.
The report said NRB's earlier plan to import Rs100 notes from India was delayed due to the demonetisation of higher value notes by the Government of India. The RBI had asked its Nepali counterpart to wait for the situation in India to normalise.
Post demonetisation exercise, NRB had lowered the exchange limit of Indian banknotes in Nepal. It currently allows an exchange of up to Rs2,000 on the basis of citizenship identification. The limit is raised to Rs10,000 for those who produce a valid rail or air ticket to India and Rs25,000 for those getting a medical checkup in India, it said.
PTI quoted an NRB official as saying that the limit will not be reviewed till the RBI is able to provide notes. The RBI had been exchanging Rs600 crore every year, which is unlikely this year due to the cash-swap. NRB has brought only Rs120 crore this year and has Rs350 crore in its reserves. After receiving the additional Rs100 crore it will be able to provide cash exchange facilities to both Nepali and Indian nationals for the next eight to nine months.