Nepal bans notes above Rs 100

TT, New Delhi: Nepal has decided to ban all high-denomination Indian currency notes, permitting people -- its own nationals and Indians -- to use only Rs 100 bills and those of lower value.

The decision appears dictated by the Reserve Bank of India's refusal to take back the demonetised notes lying with the Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) for over two years now.

"The government has decided not to use, carry (or) keep the Indian bills of 200, 500 and 2,000 denominations. The government will soon issue a formal notice," Nepal's minister for information and communications, Gokul Prasad Baskota, said.

Although there is no official figure on how much demonetised Indian notes Nepal holds, the ballpark figure often quoted in the local media is Rs 9.5 billion.