KATHMANDU, Jan 23: The government is mulling to raise the maximum limit on hard cash of Indian currency (IC) from existing INR 25,000 that can be exchanged by individuals traveling to India.
The State Minister for the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Umesh Shrestha said the government will soon hold a talk to raise the limit of IC to be carried by the individuals. According to him, the government has stepped up preparations for the same citing sharp decline in the value of currency due to soaring market prices.
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Last time in November 2015, the government ramped up the limit to up to INR 25,000 for general people. Based on the documents issued by registered doctors, people going to India for medical treatment can buy up to INR 50,000 per person.
Traders have been demanding the government to raise the limit to at least INR 300,000. According to them, petty traders need to pay what they purchased in the Indian market in terms of the IC. Of the total imports, Nepal makes around 65 percent of its expenses to India.
Due to the huge deficit in bilateral trade with the southern neighbor, Nepal spends huge amounts of the US dollar to purchase IC from India. In the first five months of the current fiscal year, the government spent USD 1.82 billion to buy INR 135.56 billion. In 2020/21, Nepal Rastra Bank paid USD 4.54 billion to buy INR 334 billion.
