Despite repeated attempts made by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for the last three months, RBI has not yet approved sale of IC to NRB in exchange for US dollar, myrepublica.com has learnt.
Over two-thirds of Nepal´s total demand of IC are bought from Kolkata branch of RBI by paying convertible currencies, chiefly the US dollar. Since India occupies 70 percent of Nepal´s total foreign trade and bulk imports are made from India against the payment of IC, adequate supply of IC is very important for Nepal.
A government source told myrepublica.com that the cause of ´mysterious´ delay by the Indian authority to supply the IC is political rather than technical. Since authorities concerned have not been able to point out specific causes for their delay, it seems that unknown political reasons are behind the delay, said the source.
"The NRB has been corresponding with the RBI official at various levels and the last letter was sent on May 29, but we are yet to get a response," said the source.
The source added that the stock of IC had depleted rapidly in the recent months due mainly to lack to timely supply from India. "The present stock of IC is enough to meet the demand for a month," he said, but added that situation could worsen if supply is not ensured by then.
According to the central bank, the normal demand of Indian currency currently stands at Indian Rs 300 million per month. As Nepal pays IC for imports of petroleum products, country´s largest import, demand of IC has been growing rapidly in recent years.
Nepal imports IC worth Rs 600 million in about every two months by chartering a Boeing 757 belonging to Nepal Airlines. NRB has bought Indian Rs 33.86 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year by paying US$ 720 million. According to NRB´s statistics, the average annual growth rate of buying IC by paying US$ has grown by 66 percent over the last three years.
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