Country:
Conventional long form: Republic of India

Name:
Conventional short form: India

Capital: New Delhi

Location: Southern Asia

Geographic
Coordinates: 20 00N, 77 00E

Time Zone:
Single Time Zone: Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.30hrs (five and half hours) ahead of GMT.

Area:
Total: 3,287,590 sq km

Land
Boundaries: Border Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Burma, Pakistan.
Total Area: 14,103 km.
Total Coastline: 7,000 km.

Terrain: Upland plain in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges and Central India, Plain and desert in west, Himalayas in North.

Nationality:
Noun: Indian(s)
Adjective: Indian

Government:
Type: Federal Republic. India is the world’s largest democracy with 675 million registered voters.

Administrative
Divisions: 28 states and 7 union territories;
States: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.

Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry

Currency: Indian rupee (INR) Coinage in India is decimal 10, based with 100 paise to every rupee. Coins are available in denominations of 50 paise and one, two and five rupees, while
notes come in 1 Rupee, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100, 500 and 1000 rupees denominations.

Currency code: INR

Population: 1,02,70,15,247 (2001)

Ethnic Groups: Indo Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%,Mongoloid and others 3%.

Religious Group: Hindu 81.3%, Muslim 12%, Christian2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other groups including Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi 2.5%.

Languages: Hindi is the national language. English enjoys associate status. There are 14 other official regional languages:Asamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu.

Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write- constitutes 69.5% of the total Population

Airports: 333

Railways: Total 63,546 km

Highways: Total 3,329,978 km

Waterways: 14,5040 km

National Holidays: Republic Day -26th January, Independence Day - 15th August, Gandhi Jayanti -2nd October

Newspaper: Leading Hindi dailies are:

• Dainik Bhaskar
• Navbharat Times
• Punjab Kaisri
• Hindustan
• Dainik Jagran
  
  Leading English dailies include:
  
  
• The Time Of India
• Hindustan Times
• The Hindu
• The Telegraph
• Indian Express

ARRIVAL FORMALITIES:

Nearly 69 International carriers operate over 300 flights a week to India’s major International Airports.  A valid national passport and a visa (Obtained from Indian missions- Embassy abroad) are a must for India visit. A Special category of VISA for medical tourists called MEDICAL VISA is issued on recommendation of the hospital providing treatment in India; this VISA is issued by the concerned Indian embassy within five working days after the completion of all the required formalities.

ACCOMMODATION:  India offers accommodation to suit all budgets and preferences ranging from luxury hotels and resorts in the starred categories to modestly priced lodges.  If seeking home comforts, stick to luxury hotels, which require prior booking.  With major hotel chains, reservations are centralized and options are offered.

LANGUAGES: Hindi is the national language.  English enjoys associate status.

CLOTHING:  Your itinerary and its timing will determine this.  Lightweight cottons and linen is required most of the year- (March to October) with warmer clothes for cooler winter (November to February) and water proofing essential in monsoon (July & August). For daywear light clothing will suffice; this will be suitable for the coastline destinations as well.  Ideal footwear would be a open sandal in summer and walking shoes in winter.  Except for the beaches, it would be wise for women to dress conservatively.  Travel as light as possible. Clothing and laundry are both quite inexpensive.

ETIQUETTES AND SOCIAL INTERACTION: Indians are generally very warm and hospitable and will appear pleased if you attempt to return their greeting, “namaste”, offered with folded hands.  A handshake will be a nice gesture only with men.

FOOD AND DRINK: Drink only bottled water. Many popular brands are easily available.  Restaurants offer a choice of Continental, Chinese and Indian cuisines, those attached to luxury hotels further specialize in Italian, Cantonese / Szechwan, Japanese, Spanish and Thai food.  There are any number of 24 hours coffee shops and fast foods joints.  Chilled beer and wine to go with the meals are, however, served at select restaurants confines to the cities, bars attached to starred hotels offer a wide array of drinks.  Beef is not served in India. Pork is also not easily available.  Eat food only in good restaurants; smaller places can be of dubious quality.  Good quality vegetarian food is easily available.  Curd or yogurt is served with most meals, which is a natural aid to digestion and helps temper the spicy food.  Fresh food straight off the fire is comparatively safe. Most of the international fast food restaurants- Mc Donald’s, SUBWAY, Dominos Pizza etc. are available in large cities.

HEALTH PRECAUTIONS:  Always drink bottled water. For the first few days it might be advisable to clean your teeth in bottled water.  Eat fruit you can peel. Always wash fruit well before eating it. Wash your hands before and after eating. Always keep a tube of mosquito repellent with you. Always carry a kit of the basic emergency medicines you might need Anti-malaria, Anti-emetic, Anti-diarrhea, Anti-allergens, Suntan Lotion, Antibiotics, band aids and an antiseptic ointment. It is advisable to take immunization shots for prevention from Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. prior to visit, it is advisable to take preventive doses of anti-Malarial pills as advised by your doctor.

TIPPING:In hotels and restaurants, tips are not normally included in the bill.  Some hotels include service charges on their bills. In such cases tipping is not necessary.  The standard tip is 5% to 10%. In hotels, porters and room service attendants are normally tipped at the end of the stay.  Tipping of taxi drivers is not customary.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE: In cities you can change most major foreign currencies and all brands of travelers' cheques - but you'll widen your options and save yourself hassles if you stick to US dollars, EURO or pounds sterling, and either Thomas Cook or American Express travelers cheques.  Most big cities have ATMs, which accept Visa and MasterCard as well as American Express. The ATM network is ever expanding and you can find them even in some smaller towns.

SIGHTSEEING: Most museums in India are closed on Mondays and Site Museums, those near archaeological monuments, on Fridays. The dry summer heat can drain you completely. Drink lots of water and fluids.  The sun is strong. Remember to use sunscreen on exposed parts of the body. Wear sunglasses to screen out harmful rays.  Photography is permitted in most places, at many places it is permitted only at a fee. There is usually a higher fee for using a video camera.   Films are easily available and processing is available within short time.  Smoking is not allowed at public places. All public places including hospitals, markets, offices, Airports properties of the Indian Railways including trains and railway stations are strictly non-smoking zones with stiff penalties for violations.  English is spoken at almost all tourist centers, but you can also request for Government-trained and approved guides who also speak German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian or Russian. Guidebooks are easily available at all the tourist places.

SHOPPING: India has a long tradition of crafts and even objects of everyday utility are fashioned artistically. Try to shop only in government handicraft shops. There the prices are fixed and the quality is certified. If that is not an option, check the prices at a few shops before making a choice. Bargaining is standard in most places and is enjoyed by all.

COMMUNICATIONS: Facilities for making local, Inland and International calls are easily available all over India at public call offices (PCO), these call and pay centers also offer fax services, country code for India is: 0091. Telex facilities are available at post and telegraph offices.

Cellular phone service is available throughout India, the network works on GPRS with fully enabled mobile Internet functionality. The service can be availed through prepaid and postpaid sim card activation in any GPRS enabled cell phone. A Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM Card) is available for foreign travelers who are traveling around for work or vacations. The SIM Card is used in conjunction with a Digital GSM mobile phone within the 900-MHz range or a Digital PCN mobile phone within the 1800-MHz range. A modern Tri or Quadra band mobile phones can work well with these sim cards.

Internet ready Laptop computers can be hired and Internet facility is available at most of the hospitals (by patient bedside- in rooms) and hotels. Internet can be easily accessed from anywhere in India from Internet access centers - Cyber Cafes providing the service for very reasonable charges. Postal services in India are quite efficient. National and International Courier services are widely available in the cities and small towns; it is also available at the post offices.

ELECTRICITY:   In India a 220 volts (alternate current) 50 cycles system of electric supply operates.  The hotels provide step-down transformers to alter voltage to suit individual electrical appliances.In India plug point sockets are round rather than flat.  If your personal electric appliance has flat-pin plug then carry a combination plug that will feed into a round-pin socket or ask for it from your hotel or hospital.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE MEDIA: No matter where you are in India it is never going to be difficult to find an English language newspaper. Cable TV is available in the hotels all over India and most of the International news; sports and entertainment channels can be accessed like BBC World Service, CNN, ESPN, Star Sports, Discovery, and National Geographic etc. FM in the metros means Non-stop music and entertainment like in the rest of the world. BBC World Service and Voice of America are on the MHz bandwidth but the frequency is variable.

OTHERS: Keep extra photocopies of the relevant pages of your passport. This will be required for Indian permits. Also, keep extra photographs of yourselves. These will be required for permits, filling out forms, etc. 

DELHI-BELLY (Traveler's diarrhoea): Usually occurs suddenly, either during or after a trip abroad, but is most common during the first week.  As well as diarrhoea, people experience symptoms such as nausea, fever, vomiting and abdominal cramps. Common causes of infection include drinking untreated water, eating poorly cooked meat and seafood, raw fruits and vegetables, unpasteurised milk and dairy products and not washing your hands before eating. To reduce the risk of diarrhoea when travelling:

• Wash your hands well before cooking, eating or handling food.
• Avoid eating fish or seafood.
• Opt for cooked vegetables rather than salads.
• Avoid buying or eating fresh fruit from market stalls or street vendors.
• Avoid unpasteurised milk, or boil it before use.
• Take care with dairy products, such as cheese and ice cream.
• Don't have ice in drinks that you buy.
• If you're self-catering, make sure all cutlery and dishes are washed well in hot (60°C) water.

India has a hot tropical weather with variations occurring region to region, temperatures in India can vary from sub zero to over 450 Celsius. Though September to March is the recommended travel season, visits timed otherwise can be as rewarding. The coolest months are from November to mid March, these winter months are pleasant with plenty of sunny days. The hottest months are from April to June, during these summer months the plains are dry, dusty and unpleasant. From July to mid September one can experience Monsoon rains. You can explore India in all the seasons, but you will have to be selective about the destinations.

Weather and climatic conditions in Different Regions of India: -

WESTERN HIMALAYAS: The summers are the best time to explore western Himalayas, as the climate remains pleasant with cold evenings and plenty of sunny days. For the adventure seekers, Western Himalayas provides plenty of trekking, hiking, water rafting, and mountaineering options. Winter sports like skiing can be enjoyed during winter months in destinations like, Auli, Kufri and Manali.

NORTHERN PLAINS: Northern plains of India experience the extreme climate. Summers are hot, humid, and extremely harsh. From July to mid September, Monsoon brings with it most of the rain received in this region. Winters are the most favored season to visit North India.

CENTRAL INDIA: Central Indian States are not very hot during summer season but monsoons can be heavy, winter nights are cool.

WESTERN INDIA: October to March is pleasant with sunny days with cool evenings. April to June is hot with monsoon rainfall between mid Junes to August.

EASTERN INDIA: From March to June the plains and coastal region are hot during summer, monsoon rains are from July to September. October to February is cool. The hilly regions remain cool throughout the year experiencing moderate to heavy rainfall.

SOUTH INDIA: October to March is comfortable, Monsoon rains are from June to August. Mid March to May is hot, due to extreme humidity coastal region experience cool breezes.