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.

1. 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;

2. 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;

3. 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;

4. 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;

5. 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.

• Transit Visas
  Transit visa are granted by Indian Missions abroad for a maximum period of 15 days.

• Exemption from Registration
  Foreigners coming to India on tourist visas for 180 days or a shorter period are not required to register themselves with any authority in India. They can move about freely in the country, except to restricted/protected areas and prohibited places.

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.

• Extension of Visa
  As a rule, no extension of stay is granted on a Tourist Visa. Tourist visas are available for a maximum period of 180 days. No charges are levied for visa extension within the maximum period of 180 days. Identical passport photographs are required.

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.

• Other Types of Visas
  If a foreigner wishes to come to India for a purpose other than tourism, he should come after obtaining an appropriate visa out of the following:

• 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.

• Conference Visa
  Delegates coming to attend international conferences in India can be granted Conference Visas to cover the conference as well as tourism purposes. Delegates are advised to apply to the Indian Embassies well in advance.

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.

• Employment Visa
  Foreigners wanting to come to India for employment should apply for an Employment Visa issued by Indian missions. Initially granted for one year, it can be extended in India upto the period of contract.

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

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.

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)

• Chair Car (Air-conditioned)

• 3-Tier Sleeper Class

• Ordinary Class

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.

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