The Nepalese rupee
Currency · NPR · Rs · 1 country
Nepal's rupee dates from 1932, when it replaced the silver mohar at two mohar to the rupee. Nepal Rastra Bank, set up under an Act of 1955, took over note issue from the government's central treasury in February 1960. For years Nepalese and Indian money circulated side by side, until the Indian rupee lost legal tender status in Nepal in 1966.
The abbreviation
रु is the opening syllable of रुपैयाँ, the Nepali word for rupee, and Nepal Rastra Bank prints amounts as रु. or Rs. English writing uses Rs. and Re. informally, and sometimes N₨. At first the rupee was called the mohru in Nepali.
The same abbreviation stands for 3 other currencies, among them the Mauritian rupee and the Pakistani rupee.
- ISO code
- NPR
- ISO number
- 524
- Subunit
- paisa, 1/100
An amount, written out
Rs 1,234.50
- Rs 1,234.50English
- रू १,२३४.५०NepaliNepal
Where the Nepalese rupee is the official currency
Nepal uses its rupee alone, pegged at 1.60 to the Indian rupee, and the currency may be used for domestic payments only inside Nepal.
About the Nepalese rupee
How the rupee replaced the mohar
The rupee came in during 1932 at two silver mohar to one rupee, and at first Nepali called it the mohru. The government set up a Mint Department the same year. Paper money followed on 17 September 1945. The government issued notes of 5, 10 and 100 rupees through the Sadar Mulukikhana, its central treasury, and had them printed by India Security Press at Nashik.
Why Nepal wanted a central bank
Nepal Rastra Bank was established on 26 April 1956 under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act of 1955. Nepalese and Indian currency were both circulating then, and the Act's preamble charged the bank with "proper management for the issuance of the Nepalese currency notes". The bank set up a Note Department in September 1956 and took over note issue from the treasury in February 1960. Its first notes, printed by De La Rue in Britain, were issued on 19 February 1960. Minting followed in 1983.
The Indian rupee ceased to be legal tender in Nepal in 1966. Fixed rates were older still. A hard peg of 1.60 Nepalese rupees to one Indian rupee had been set in 1960, and the rate moved several times before the government pegged it at 1.60 again in the early 1990s. The Nepal Rastra Bank Act of 2002 gives the bank the decisions on denominations, figures, size, metal and printing materials. In 2024 the rupee could be used for domestic payments only inside Nepal, with foreign exchange held to strict limits.
What changed on the notes when the monarchy ended
Notes under King Birendra came in two series, one showing him in military uniform and the other in the plumed crown. The last notes issued under Gyanendra dropped the reference to the king and read Nepal sarkar, Nepalese government. In October 2007 a 500 rupee note put Mount Everest where the king's portrait had been, ahead of the move from monarchy to republic in May 2008. The other denominations, from 5 to 1,000 rupees, followed in 2008 with Everest and without any reference to the king in their legends.
The first 500 and 1,000 rupee notes of the new design used paper that still carried the crowned portrait as a watermark. The bank printed a red rhododendron over it. From 2009 the paper itself carried a rhododendron watermark. Perum Peruri, the Indonesian state mint company, has produced the notes since 2007, and a revised series of 2012 added English inscriptions and the year of issue. The Rs.1000 of the 2025 series gives visually impaired users a raised letter M and ten angular intaglio lines to feel.
Where the paisa still turns up
The rupee divides into 100 paisa. The small coins see little use. The bank's own record lists 5, 10, 25 and 50 paisa among the regular coins it has minted, beside coins of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees. In 1955 a 4 paisa coin was struck from Second World War rifle cartridge cases used by Gurkha soldiers against Japan. The primers were removed and the cases converted into coins, known since as the bullet paisa.
Common questions
Questions about the Nepalese rupee
Is the Nepalese rupee pegged to the Indian rupee?
Yes, at 1.60 Nepalese rupees to one Indian rupee, a rate set officially in the early 1990s. Nepal had fixed the same ratio once before, as a hard peg in 1960, and in between the rate was revalued several times, including after India devalued sharply on 6 June 1966. From 1983 a trade-weighted basket of currencies served as the anchor, which in practice meant a hard peg against the Indian rupee. The Indian rupee itself stopped being legal tender inside Nepal in 1966.
Why is Mount Everest on Nepal's banknotes?
Everest replaced the king. In October 2007 Nepal Rastra Bank issued a 500 rupee note with the mountain in the place of the royal portrait, and notes of the other denominations followed in 2008, the year Nepal became a republic. The rhododendron, the national flower, took the king's place in the watermark.
What is a bullet paisa?
A 4 paisa coin struck in 1955 from rifle cartridge cases of the Second World War, used by Gurkha soldiers who fought the Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific. The primers were taken out and the cases turned into coins to commemorate the soldiers. It is known as the Nepal bullet paisa.