Nepalese PM calls up Modi over India's demonetization

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called up his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, requesting him to provide exchange facility for demonetized Indian currency notes in circulation in Nepal, the prime minister's office said here.

They held a five-minute conversation on Monday night in which the Nepali prime minister congratulated Modi on his move to crack down on black money and corruption, a press statement released by the prime minister's secretariat said.

Responding to Dahal, the Indian prime minister assured that he would address the problem concerning the demonetization faced by Nepal.

The Nepali prime minister took personal initiative to address the problem of exchanging demonetized Indian currency notes after rounds of efforts made by the state-run central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank failed to solve the problem.

Media reports said the Nepalese central bank wrote a letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week requesting to manage the Indian currency notes of 500 and 1,000 denominations from the Himalayan nation.

The latest move of the Indian government is posing a challenge to the management of Indian currency worth billions possessed by the Nepali nationals.

Hundreds of thousands of Nepali nationals in India and those residing and working in various border regions between the two countries have also been hugely affected by the Indian move. Endit