Concerned ministries and departments of India and Nepal are in regular touch to find a way out to the crisis that has emerged after India’s demonetisation move, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). 

Asked about the delay in making an arrangement for the exchange of old Indian notes in the denominations of 500 and 1,000, mainly in Nepal and Bhutan, MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “Finance departments of the countries concerned are in regular consultation to find a way out.”

Earlier, India had formed an inter-ministerial committee to suggest ways for the exchange of banned Indian notes. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 announced that the government was pulling bank notes in the denominations of 500 and 1,000 from circulation “to crackdown on black money and curb corruption”.

India’s demonetisation move has caused problems for many in Nepal who have those banned notes in their possession. Many Nepalis who earn a living as daily-wage labourers in India, or those who visit the neighbouring country seeking medical treatment or rely on Indian markets to purchase daily essentials also hold these banned notes are also facing lots of problems. 

Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had held a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Modi to make arrangement for the exchange of banned Indian notes. 

In India, the deadline for exchanging the old notes with new ones is December 30, which is just three weeks away.