Nepal drops disputed map from Re 1 coin, adds Mustang monastery

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 18:06 IST

Nepal's government has approved the minting of newly designed one-rupee and two-rupee coins, with the one-rupee coin set to drop the country's controversial map and instead carry the image of a monastery. The move has drawn criticism from a senior opposition leader, who said it raises questions over Nepal's territorial position.

The controversy centres on Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, which Nepal claims as its territory while India maintains they belong to it. In May 2020, the then K P Oli-led government had included these areas in Nepal's official map.

Sources said the Council of Ministers on Thursday approved the Nepal Rastra Bank's proposal to mint the newly designed one-rupee and two-rupee coins. Under the decision, the new political map of Nepal will be removed from the one-rupee coin, they said.

The redesigned one-rupee coin will carry the image of the Lo Ghyakar Monastery, located in Marang village of Mustang, instead of the map that included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani. The monastery is considered one of the oldest in Nepal. However, according to cabinet sources, the two-rupee coin will retain the map printed earlier.

Senior Nepali Communist Party leader Bhim Rawal criticised the decision to remove the new political map from the one-rupee coin, calling it a serious move against Nepal's territorial integrity. He demanded that both the government and the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party immediately clarify the matter.

Rawal said, "If the government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah has indeed decided to remove the map of Nepal, including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, from the one-rupee coin and replace it with the image of the Lo Ghyakar Monastery, it will constitute another serious anti-national decision and a blow to Nepal's territorial integrity."

Nepal Rastra Bank spokesperson Guru Prasad Paudel said the central bank had proposed the new designs to replace the old ones in order to reduce the size and weight of the coins. He said the one-rupee coin will weigh 3.2 grams instead of 4 grams, while the two-rupee coin will weigh 3.8 grams instead of 5 grams. The new coins will also be made of steel instead of mixed metal, and their colour will be steel white instead of yellow.

In sum, Nepal has decided to redesign its smaller denomination coins, with the one-rupee coin dropping the disputed map in favour of the Lo Ghyakar Monastery, while the two-rupee coin will continue to carry the earlier map.

With PTI Inputs

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