Nepalese rupee

Nepalese rupee
रूपैयाँ (Nepali)
1000 Nepalese rupee banknote (obverse)
ISO 4217
Code	NPR
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	Paisa
Symbol	रू Rs. (plural) Re. (singular)
Banknotes
Freq. used	Rs. रू5, रू10, रू20, रू50, रू100, रू500, रू1000
Rarely used	Rs.रू1, रू2, रू25, रू250
Coins
Freq. used	Rs.रू1, रू2
Rarely used	1, 5, 10, 25, 50 paisa, Rs.रू5, रू10
Demographics
Date of introduction	1932
User(s)	Nepal
Issuance
Central bank	Nepal Rastra Bank
Website	www.nrb.org.np
Valuation
Inflation	7.8%
Source	The World Factbook, October 2005 est.
Pegged with	Indian Rupee (₹, INR)
Pegged by	₹1 = रू1.6000 (buy) ₹1 = रू1.6015 (sell)

The Nepalese rupee (Nepali: रूपैयाँ, symbol: रू, Rs.; ISO 4217: NPR) is the official currency of Nepal. The Nepalese rupee was introduced in 1932 and it replaced the Nepalese mohar at 2:1. Nepalese rupee is subdivided into 100 paisa. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank. The Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee at 1.6:1.

The rupee was introduced in 1932, replacing the silver mohar at a rate of 2 mohar = 1 rupee. At first, the rupee was called the mohru in Nepali. Its value was pegged to the Indian rupee in 1993 at a rate of 1.6 Nepalese rupees = 1 Indian rupee.

The early banknotes which were issued between 1945 and 1955 during the rule of King Tribhuvan were not put into circulation by a Central Bank which did not exist in Nepal at that time. The issuing authority was the treasury which had the name Sadar Muluki Khana. Therefore, the notes of king Tribhuvan were not signed by a bank governor, but by a Kajanchi (head of the treasury) who was a high Hindu priest in the same time. Nepal’s early paper currency probably includes the only notes of the world which were signed by a high priest. These early notes were printed by the Indian Security Press in Nashik and do not have any security features, except for the water marks and the special paper on which they are printed.

Starting with King Mahendra who succeeded to his father Tribhuvan in 1955, the banknotes were issued by Nepal Rastra Bank (Nepal National Bank) which was founded in April 1956. The signature of the governors of this institution is found on the banknotes which were issued after this date.

Under King Mahendra the Nepalese Government became “His Majesty’s Government” (expressed by "shri 5 ko sarakar" which literally means “the government of the five times honoured”) and remained this way during the rule of Birendra and Gyanendra. Two series of banknotes were issued during the rule of king Mahendra: The first series shows the king in civilian clothes wearing the Nepalese “topi” while on the notes of the second series the king is shown in military uniform. The second series comprised for the first time notes of the high value of 500 and 1000 rupees.