The Reserve Bank of India has formed a task force to ease currency exchange facility in Nepal for non-Indians.
The task force has been formed by the RBI and will come up with modalities to address the problems faced by people of Nepal and Bhutan – where the banknotes were in wide circulation.
Indian currency notes having a value of Rs 33.6 million in denominations of 500 and 1,000 is circulated in Nepal’s financial system. The figure includes cash parked at bank vaults, financial institutions and NRB.
But the actual stock of the now-defunct notes could be much more because Nepalis were previously allowed to carry Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 Indian banknotes worth up to Rs 25,000.
Also, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis, who earn a living in India and those who visit the country for medical treatment or rely on Indian markets to purchase daily essentials, are said to be holding the scrapped Indian banknotes.
Besides, people who visit India as pilgrims and those engaged in cross-border trade have kept stock of banned Indian notes, the report said outlining the worries among the people.