Surprisingly, most of the SMLEs carried by the Maoist insurgents in Nepal over the last decade or so have been .303s, often but not always product of the old Ishapore small arms factory in the Indian sub-division of Barrackpore, outside Calcutta, where they've been turning out arms and munitions since 1791. Their production of the SMLE during two Great Wars was extensive, and continued until around 1958 when the new 7,62 NATO rifle cartreidge was adopted by the Commonwealth. But the facilities were still available to turn out those final 1A and 1A1 iterations of the SMLE for the new chambering. They were Not just rebarrelling jobs, the receivers requiring a better grade of steel and heat treating than the earlier .303 SMLEs.
However, the 2A and 2A1 7.62 *police rifles* seen fairly often in India were not as common in Nepal, where a standard FAL SLR was the choice if a 7.62 NATO rifle was to be used.
