After facing immense criticism and controversies from various political parties for giving the contract to print machine readable passports to an Indian company, the Nepal government has scrapped the deal.
The decision to scrap the deal with Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited and start a fresh tender was taken by the Cabinet late on Sunday evening.
Though the government had invited global bidding in December 2009, it cancelled it in January. The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament had asked the government to resume the bid in February but the government awarded the contract to the Indian company in March.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued an interim order not to execute the deal until April 12 based on two petitions.
Meanwhile, various political parties including the ruling CPN-(UML) condemned the government decision. The opposition Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had called a nationwide general strike on Monday but withdrew it after the Cabinet scrapped the deal. The party said the deal was against Nepal's national interest.
