NRB mulls A/C in border Indian banks
Useful Links
» A new way to read online, exact replica of your daily and magazine
» For all you tweety fans out there!
» Allows you to find only those news from any date you choose!
» Search any news/ articles by author/ category/ date/ keyword
KATHMANDU, JUN 20 - Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is planning to open ‘agency accounts’ in Indian banks in India bordering Nepal to help Nepali peopple get Indian currency with ease.
The central bank will also encourage commercial banks to do the same.
Currently, neither the central bank nor other banks have such accounts in braches of Indian banks in the bordering towns although they have accounts in Indian banks in major Indian cities.
“We will be opening agency accounts in all major bordering cities within the next one or one-and-a-half months,” an NRB official told the Post on Saturday.
The ‘agency accounts’ will help Nepali people to get Indian currency through cheques issued by Nepali banks, according to the official.
The central bank has already opened the door for banks to open such accounts in bordering towns.
“We are looking into how Indian banks will be able to provide adequate cash through their bordering branches,” the official added.
NRB spokesman Gopal Kafle said the agency accounts in the bordering towns could ease transaction through banking channels and help promote trade between Nepal and India.
The NRB will, however, not change its policy of discouraging use of IC notes. It believes that IC notes are being used for smuggling of goods across the border.
Moreover, with the shortage of IC in cash form, the notes are being sold at higher rates along the border. The value of IRs 100 has gone up to Rs. 170 in the black market.
Black marketers have been benefiting from the situation by depositing Nepal currency in Nepal, withdrawing them from bordering Indian cities in IC and selling them the next day at higher rates.
Posted on: 2010-06-20 09:23
Post Your Comment