India

Time & Date: GMT +5.30

Currency:
the currency is the Rupee, abbreviated as Rs. which is divided into 100 paisa. The Rupee notes come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. Coins are in denominations of Rupee 1, 2 and 5.
India’s unit of currency is the rupee, usually abbreviated “Rs” and divided into a hundred paise. Almost all money is paper, with notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees. Coins in circulation are 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees, the latter two gradually replacing the paper versions. Note that it’s technically illegal to take rupees in or out of India (although they are widely available at overseas forexes), so you might want to wait until you arrive before changing money. Banknotes, especially lower denominations, can get into a terrible state. Don’t accept torn banknotes, since no one else will be prepared to take them and you’ll be left saddled with the things, though you can change them at the Reserve Bank of India and large branches of other big banks. Don’t pass them on to beggars; they can’t use them either, so it amounts to an insult.

Large denominations can also be a problem, as change is usually in short supply. Many Indian people cannot afford to keep much lying around, and you shouldn’t necessarily expect shopkeepers or rickshaw-wallahs to have it (and they may – as may you – try to hold onto it if they do). Larger notes – like the Rs500 note – are good for travelling with and can be changed for smaller denominations at hotels and other suitable establishments. A word of warning – the Rs500 note looks remarkably similar to the Rs100 note.

Languages:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication. The official language of the Indian Union is Hindi, which is the primary tongue of 30% of the people. Besides Hindi, some of the other official languages include Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri and Sindhi.

Food & Drinks:
Indian food has a richly deserved reputation as one of the world’s great cuisines. Stereotyped abroad as the ubiquitous ”curry”, the cooking of the Subcontinent covers a wealth of different culinary styles, with myriad regional variations and specialities, from the classic creamy meat and fruit Mughlai dishes of the north through to the banana-leaf vegetarian thalis of the south. The basic distinction in Indian food is between the cuisines of the north and south. North Indian food (which is the style generally found in Indian restaurants abroad) is characterized by its rich meat and vegetable dishes in thick tomato, onion and yogurt-based sauces, accompanied by thick breads. South Indian food, by contrast, is almost exclusively vegetarian, with spicy chilli and coconut flavours and lots of rice, either served in its natural state or made into one of the south’s distinctive range of pancakes, such as the dosa, iddli and uttapam.

Travel Insurance:
When buying your travel insurance, always check the small print – some policies specifically exclude ‘dangerous activities’, which could be anything from scuba diving to horse riding. You should check whether the medical coverage is on a pay first, claim later basis and, more importantly, ensure that your medical coverage includes the cost of medical evacuation.

Visa:
A valid passport and visa are required for travel to India. The Indian government now offers two options for tourists, a traditional tourist visaor an e-Tourist Visa (eTV) issued electronically. A traditional Indiantourist visa is stamped inside the traveler’s passport.

International Airports:
New Delhi – Indira Gandhi International Airport
Mumbai – Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Kolkata – Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
Hyderabad – Hyderabad Airport
Goa – Goa Airport
Chennai – Anna International Airport
Bangalore – Bangalore International Airport
Cochin – Cochin International Airport
Trivandrum – Trivandrum International Airport