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INDIA
NOTES
GEOGRAPHIC
LOCATION : The Indian
mainland extends between latitudes 8°4´ and 37°6´ north and
longitudes 68°7´ and 97°25´ east. It covers an
area of 3,287,268 sq. km. from north to south, the country
measures 3,214 km from east to west 2,933 km.
POPULATION
: The Indian population is estimated at
1,00,00.00.000 inhabitants, including Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists. Hindus account for
approximately 82% of the population, Muslims for about 12%,
Christians for about 3%, Sikhs for around 2% and Buddhists for
about ½%
CURRENCY
: One Rupee - 100 paise,
Notes are denominations of rupees, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500
& 1000.
DRIVING
: Driving in India is on
the left hand side of the road, and a valid Indian license is
compulsory.
ELECTRICITY
: In the most places the
electric voltage is 220 Volts AC, 50 Hz. However, many of the
deluxe hotels offer both 220 and 110 AC, 60 cycles.
LANGUAGE
: Hindi and English are
the official languages used in the government. 14 regional
languages are also used throughout the country.
MEDICAL
SERVICES : Good medical
facilities are available throughout India.
FOOD
: Indian food is basically spicy. Almost all the
restaurants serve continental food. Chinese food is also
generally popular here.
TAXIS
: Taxis are available
everywhere in the cities and also at hotels. For non-metered
taxis, it is advisable to finalize the rates before taking the
journey.
CREDIT
CARDS : International
cards are widely accepted by hotels and leading travel agents,
departmental stores and shops (AMEX, VISA, MASTER, DINERS etc.)
The
Indian Seasons
India
has three major seasons: winter, summer and the monsoon. The
winter months (November-February) have bright, sunny days and
are pleasant throughout India.
The
summer months (April-June) are hot in most parts of India.
During this period, hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie,
Nainital, Kullu and the Kashmir valley (North), Darjeeling,
Shillong (North-East), Ootacamund, Kodaikanal (South), Pachmarhi
(Central India) and Mount Abu (Rajasthan) provide cool retreats.
The
monsoon is an amazing phenomenon of nature. Sometime in June,
the clouds break in the coast of southern India and are pushed
up northwards by July - immersing the entire Indian
sub-continent in torrents. Except for the south-eastern region,
India receives its major share of rain between June and
September. The south-eastern areas receive most rainfall from
the northeasterly monsoon between mid-October and December-end.
However, the only area which remains dry is the highest desert
in the world - the fascinating moonscape of Ladakh. This is the
time to trek up here.
Documents
& Formalities
PASSPORTS
All
travellers to India must possess a valid passport. It is
advisable to carry your passport during your travel while in
India for possible identification requirements.
VISAS
All
foreign tourists to India (barring nationals of Nepal and
Bangladesh) must possess a valid visa. Visas are not issued on
arrival. The cost of the visa is US$ 30 for upto six months, US$
50 for upto one year and US$ 100 for more than year and upto
five years. Contact the Indian Embassy or consulate in you
country with the required documents for issuance of visas.
A tourist visa is valid for three to six months.
Tourist
visas allow multiple entry Tourist visas simplify your
visits to neighbouring countries. You will be required to fill
in a disembarkation card on your way to India which is
required to be submitted at the Immigration counters at
the entry airport.
-
Collective
Visas
Foreign
tourist travelling in groups of not less than four, under a
recognised travel agent, can be granted tourist visas
without prior reference, or even granted collective visas
for tourism in India. In such cases the following procedure
may be adopted.
-
The
agency sponsoring the group should furnish four copies of
a list containing the full name, nationality, address,
date and place of birth and passport particulars of each
member of the group to the Indian Mission in the country
from which the tour starts, at least three days prior to
the date of departure;
-
after
necessary checks, the Mission will stamp a
collective visa and it will not be necessary to stamp each
individual passport. Three copies of the list will be
returned to the sponsoring agency;
-
the
person in charge of the tourist group will hand over two
copies of the list to the immigration authority at the
point of arrival in India;
-
the
agents in India will also have to furnish a list of the
members of the group at least four hours before the
arrival of the flight, to the immigration authority. This
will facilitate an advance check of the additions before
arrival of the flight;
-
in
case where the tourist group splits into smaller groups
for travel to different parts within India, the
immigration authority would grant a collective 'license
to travel' listing the particulars of the
members of the smaller groups.
Nationals
of Bangladesh are exempt from registration for up to six
months. If their stay exceeds six months, they have to
register themselves with the concerned authorities.
Family passports issued by other governments are recognised
without discrimination.
-
Landing
Permit Facility (For group tourists)
Foreign
tourists in groups of four or more arriving by air or sea,
sponsored by recognised Indian travel agencies and with a
pre-drawn itinerary may be granted a collective landing
permit for a specified period of time on the written request
of the travel agencies. The Immigration Officer must have
full personal and passport details of the group members, the
itinerary, an undertaking to conduct the group as per their
itinerary and an assurance that no individual will be
allowed to drop out from the group at any place. However,
such landing permits do not entitle Israeli group tourist to
visit the state of J & K unless they are specifically
cleared by MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs).
-
Tourist
Groups
A
tourist group arriving by air, ship or by a chartered or
scheduled flight may be granted a collective landing permit
for a period of upto 30 days by the immigration authorities
on landing, provided the group is sponsored by a recognised
travel agency and a pre-dawn itinerary is presented along
with details of passports etc., of the members, and the
travel agency gives an undertaking to conduct the group
together.
However,
in the case of an extension beyond 180 days, which is allowed
only in exceptional cases, an extension fee which varies
for different nationalities is charged. In case a
foreign tourist has obtained extension beyond three months of
stay in India, he/she will have to surrender his/her
Certificate of Registration and Residential Permit before
leaving India.
-
Business
Visa
A foreigner can obtain from an Indian Embassy
abroad. A multiple-entry business visa valid for five
years, provided he wants to come for business.
Foreigners of Indian origin can obtain a five-year
multiple-entry visa for business, to meet their
relatives etc.
-
Student
Visa
A student visa can be obtained from the
Indian Embassy on the production of proof of
administration and means of sustenance while in India.
The visa is valid for one year but is extended in India
for the duration of the course. The visa will be valid
for the duration of the course of five years, whichever
is less.
Foreigners
wanting to study yoga, music, vedic culture, dance etc.
are required to apply well in advance with all necessary
particulars. Indian embassies may consider granting
visas for upto a period of five years.
Foreigners
wishing to undertake trekking, botanical expeditions,
mountaineering expeditions, canoe-rafting, etc., in a team
may be granted visas for the required duration on
presentation of full details.
Sports
teams or individual sportsmen wishing to participate in
international sports events being held in India may be
granted visas.
Foreign
journalists, mediamen, documentary and feature film makers
may obtain necessary visas after due formalities as
required by the Indian Embassy.
Money
Matters
The
Indian currency is the Rupee and it is a fully convertible
currency. The Rupee notes are available in denominations of
1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Coins are available in
the denominations of 5,2,1 (rupee) and 50 and 25 paise.
Foreign
Currency
Foreign
exchange/currency brought into India must be declared at Customs
should the value of foreign currency exceed US$ 2,500 or
the aggregate value of the foreign exchange including currency
notes exceeds US$ 10,000 or equivalent. You can exchange money
at international airports where 24-hour exchange facilities are
available through banks and approved money changers. You can
also change money at nationalized banks and other banks in the
country.

Customs
On Arrival
There
are two customs clearance channels. The green channel is for
travellers carrying non-dutiable items while the red channel is
for travellers carrying dutiable items.
Duty-free
items
Duty-free items which you may bring to India include
personal effects like clothing and other articles but not if
this is commercial merchandise. All expensive electronic
equipment/s must be declared at the Customs on arrival - which
will be re-checked on departure. Take care to obtain an Export
Certificate for these items if you are travelling to
neighbouring countries and intend a multiple entry.
You
can not bring in gold coins, gold or silver bullion into the
country. Weapons brought into the country should be licensed and
declared. Any cash or travellers cheques over US$ 10,000 or
equivalent must be declared. Possession of narcotics is strictly
prohibited. Personal effects which are not used during your stay
must be carried back to you.
Gift
worth Rs. 4000 for tourists of foreign origin and Rs. 12000 for
tourists of Indian origin, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 gm
of tobacco, one litre each of wine and spirits is allowed free
of duty.

Income
Tax Clearance
If
a person not domiciled in India intends to stay in the country
for more than 120 days, an Income Tax Clearance' certificate is
required in order to leave the country. This document will prove
that the person's stay in India was financed by his own money
and not by working or selling his goods.
The
foreign section of the Income Tax Department at Delhi, Kolkata,
Chennai and Mumbai issues these certificates on being shown the
person's passport, visa extension form and the currency exchange
receipts which have been used by the person.
Inland
Air Travel Tax
An
Inland Air Travel Tax is leviable at 10 percent of the basic
fare, on all passengers embarking on an inland air journey.
Passengers paying their airfare in foreign exchange will be
exempted from payment of this tax. In addition infants, cancer
patients, blind persons and invalids (those on stretchers) are
also exempted from this tax after fulfilling certain conditions
in the relevant notifications.
Check-in
time for all domestic flights is one hour before departure.

Guides
Trained
English speaking guides are available at fixed charges at all
important tourist centres. French, Italian, Spanish,
German, Russian and Japanese speaking guides are available at
most of the important cities. Since the Language speaking guides
are limited in numbers, enough notice should be given to your
travel agent to block them for assignments.
Unapproved
guides are not permitted to enter protected monuments and
tourists are, therefore, advised to ask for the services of
guides who carry a certificate issued by the Department of
Tourism/Archaeological Survey of India.
Healthcare
While travelling
If
a foreign tourist originates from or has transited through
endemic Yellow Fever countries (Africa, South America, Papua New
Guinea), he/she must possess a Yellow Fever Vaccination
certificate.
No
other vaccination certificate is mandatory though you may like
to consult your doctor for inoculation against typhoid,
hepatitis A and meningitis. If you are a health fanatic, you may
like to consider inoculation against polio, measles, mumps,
cholera etc. However a few careful precautions will make sure
that even if you do not take the inoculations, you are
protected.
International
Airport Facilities
The
international airports offer a range of services ensuring that
the traveller on business can continue working while waiting to
catch an international connection, or when transferring between
international flights. These include gourmet restaurants,
business centres and are equipped with state of the art
equipment including word processors and telefax. Airports also
provide the tourist with such facilities for leisure as
duty-free and handicrafts shopping, informal snack bars, nursery
and baby care rooms, and even an art gallery. Duty-free prices
in the airport shops are very competitive, offering you bargains
on international merchandise.
Travelling
within India
By
Air
There
are three large domestic airlines which fly across the country.
The state-owned Indian Airlines with the largest network, Jet
Airways and Sahara Airlines.
Jet
Airways : India's award winning largest private airline. Jet
Airways operates one of the youngest fleets in the world,
consisting of 38 Boeing 737-400/700/800 jets to 44
destinations within India, with over 235 daily flights. The
airline has Interline agreements with over 120 international
airlines and facilities include 24-hour flight information
and reservation, computerized check-in, free coach service at
the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) Airports, a choice of meals
including vegetarian/non vegetarian diabetic, low
cholesterol, Jain meals etc.
Jet
Airways offers a variety of special fares to facilitate travel
within India
Discover
India
(21
Days) |
USD
750 plus applicable taxes |
Discover
India
(15
Days) |
USD
500 Plus applicable taxes |
Regional
Pass
(7
Days) |
USD
300 plus applicable taxes |
| Youth
Fare |
25%
off on USD tariff for all tourists between the ages of
12 & 30 |
Indian
Airlines : Commanding a large and modern jet fleet, the
Indian Airlines (IC) network, spans the country's 3,000 km from
Leh in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south, and about
the same from east to west, covers all important places of
tourist interest. Indian Airlines links 59 cities in India and
16 in the neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kuwait, U.A.E.,
Oman and Malaysia.
Reservations
: Reservations on Indian Airlines flights can be made from any
where abroad in a matter of minutes through the SITA Airlines
Communications System which is linked to the airline's Real Time
Computer Reservation System.
Indian
Airlines has inter-line agreements with over 120 airlines
worldwide and the offices of any of these airlines or their
agents have been enabled to issue tickets on IC flights.
|
Indian
Airline offers a variety of special fares aimed at
encouraging tourist travel |
| Discover
India |
USD750,
permits unlimited travel within India for 21 days. |
| India
Wonder Fare |
USD300,
permits unlimited travel within India for 21 days. |
| South
India Excursion |
30
per cent discount on USD tariff for travel on specific
South Indian Sectors. |
| Youth
Fare |
25
per cent off on USD tariff for all tourists between the
ages of 12 and 30. |
Sahara
Airlines : The airline has a fleet of nine Boeings and four
helicopters (Dauphins and Equirriels). With Interline agreements
with various national and international airlines, value added
services on Sahara include an in-flight library, valet service,
tele-check-in for both "Y" and "J" class,
personalised reading kit and meal preference (Jain meals and
diabetic meals are standard fare and customised meals for Sahara
Royale passengers Include Thai, Italian, Continental and Indian,
as well as health meals).
By
Rail
The
Indian Railways network is incredibly extensive (the second
largest in the world) and if you want to see the country unfold
in front of you, this may be the best mode of travel. The rail
network, of course, is more extensive than the air network and
may take you to a greater number of places. The Railways operate
nearly 7,800 passenger services a day over a route length of
approximately 63,000 km.
You
can opt for the luxury tourist trains such as Palace-on-Wheels
and the Royal
Orient, the superfast Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains
or the other regular trains which are divided into 15 zones.
Most trains run daily. However, tourist or other special trains
may have a limited schedule. Special holiday trains are also
often run during holiday and festivals. There are also
steam-hauled 'toy-trains' in the hills which offer a quaint
experience.
The
regular trains usually have the following classes of
accommodation :
-
1st
Class (Air-conditioned)
-
2-Tier
Sleeper (Air-conditioned)
-
3-Tier
Sleeper (Air-conditioned)
-
Executive
Chair Car (Air-conditioned)
By
Road
India
has a road network of over 2.9 million kms. National highways
comprise 34,608 kms and state highways 128,622 kms.
Several highways such as Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur have been
upgraded and widened of late. In all, national highways have
been widened to four-lane highways in the states of Rajasthan,
Haryana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
All
state transport corporations operate extensive bus services and
it is possible to reach even the remotest of places by bus
(check respective cities for details). However, do remember that
not all buses are well-cushioned and some of the rides can be
bumpy and uncomfortable. Take a bus only when you are sure of
what it feels like. Tourist districts, of course, will have a
range of buses - offering air-conditioned, well-maintained
interiors.
If
you are planning a self-drive, India can be an extremely
adventurous and interesting destination. Once in India with your
vehicle, it is good to remember a few things.
Vehicles
drive on the left in India
Have a map of the journey you wish to chart
Fuel Either tank-up sufficiently before starting or
enquire about unleaded petrol stations prior to embarking on the
journey
Safety Avoid driving in the night. Do not offer lift to
strangers

The
Indrail Pass
The
Indrail passes on 12 hours, two-day and four-day basis are
available and are economical for tourists intending to visit
places, the journey time of which fits in these durations. These
can also be used as convenient supplements to extend the
journey time, which otherwise is not covered by the Indrail
passes, for 7,15, 21, 30, 60 and 90 days. Indrail Passes for 12
hours, one-day, two-day and four-day duration are sold by
General Sales Agents abroad.
|
Period
of Validity and Fare Structure (Fares in U.S. dollars)
|
|
Period
of Validity
|
AC
Class
|
First
Class
AC-2 Tier
AC-3 Tier
AC Chair Car
|
Sleeper
Class
Second Class
(Non AC)
|
|
|
Adult
|
Child
|
Adult
|
Child
|
Adult
|
Child
|
|
½
Day*
|
57
|
29
|
26
|
13
|
11
|
6
|
|
1
Day*
|
95
|
47
|
43
|
22
|
19
|
10
|
|
2
Days*
|
160
|
80
|
70
|
35
|
30
|
15
|
|
4
Days*
|
220
|
110
|
110
|
55
|
50
|
25
|
|
7
Days
|
270
|
135
|
135
|
68
|
80
|
40
|
|
15
Days
|
370
|
185
|
185
|
95
|
90
|
45
|
|
21
Days*
|
396
|
198
|
198
|
99
|
100
|
50
|
|
30
Days*
|
495
|
248
|
248
|
126
|
125
|
65
|
|
60
Days*
|
800
|
400
|
400
|
200
|
185
|
95
|
|
90
Days*
|
1060
|
530
|
530
|
265
|
235
|
120
|
|
*
SOLD BY GENERAL SALES AGENTS
ABROAD.
FARES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. |
Restricted
and Protected Areas
Military
installations and areas, defence organisations and research
organisations are considered protected areas, where permits are
generally not given to foreigners.
Photography
Restrictions
Photography
is prohibited in places of military importance, railway
stations, bridges, airports and other military installations.
For
photography at some of the monuments by Video cameras specially
for commercial purposes, a special permission is to be obtained
from the Archaeological Survey of India.
Export
of Antiquities
Antiquities,
which include sculpture, painting or other works of art and
crafts, illustrative of science, art, crafts, religion of bygone
ages and of historical interest which have been in existence for
not less than 100 years may not be exported out of India.
Manuscripts
or other documents of scientific, historical, literary or
aesthetic value in existence for not less than 75 years; art
treasures, not necessarily antiquities but having regard to the
artistic and aesthetic value cannot be exported out of India.
For
further clarification on the antiquity of an artefact, the
tourists can contact the authorities and get information on the
Acts and Rules governing Antiquities and Art Treasures Act,
1972.

Restrictions
to Export of Articles Made From Animals
Govt.
of India is concerned about the conservation of its endangered
and rare fauna. With this view, export of all wild animals
indigenous to the country and articles made from such listed
animals like skin, pelts, furs, ivory, rhino horns, trophies etc
have been totally banned.
Tourists
are also advised to acquaint themselves with the provisions of
Convention on International Trade of endangered species of wild
fauna and flora. All the member countries of the convention
allow import of the articles covered by convention on the
strength of a certificate of export from the country of origin.
For
further information and reservation please contact

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