The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country’s central bank, announced on Saturday that it would mint a new one-rupee coin featuring a controversial map showing the territories of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, which are disputed with India.Kathmandu claims the territories as their own, whereas New Delhi maintains that these are part of Uttarakhand and has said the issue should be addressed through bilateral dialogue.“NRB has not officially received the new design of the coin, but we are sure it will feature the map,” spokesperson Guru Prasad Paudel said, according to PTI.“We will issue the new one-rupee coin. However, its size and metal will be changed, making it smaller and lighter than the previous one,” Paudel added.
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On July 20, the Nepal government, led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a rapper-turned-politician, approved replacing the Nepal map on the coin with an image of a monastery.However, the government later decided to retain the map, reportedly following pressure from the opposition and the public.As part of the redesign, the controversial political map was to be removed from the coin and replaced with an image of the Lo Ghyakar Monastery in Marang village, Mustang district. The monastery is considered one of Nepal’s oldest Buddhist monasteries.The-then K P Sharma Oli-led government included the territories in Nepal’s official map in May 2020.(With PTI inputs)