Currency
Indian Currency is the Indian Rupee (Re/Rs).
Since you are not allowed to bring in Indian
currency, your best option is the airport
bank. Indian Rupee notes are printed in denominations
of Rs 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, and 10. The
Rupee is divided into 100 Paise. You will
see only 1, 2, 5 Rs coins, though coins below
50 paisa are rarely seen.
You should keep small denominations notes
for the small payments like tips, bus tickets,
and meals. When going to a remote area or
small town where encashing of travellers cheque
will be difficult you can take 1000 Rs and
500 Rs notes, but you should be careful when
using them and should not be confused with
100 Rs.
Travelers
cheques
Traveller's Cheques issued by reputable companies
(eg Thomas Cook, American Express) are accepted
without difficulty. Traveler's Cheques exchanged
in banks or hotels, and can only very rarely
be used directly for Payment. You need identification
documents like a passport to be shown. Except
in hotels, encashing Traveler's Cheques nearly
always takes up to 30 minutes or longer, So
it is worth taking larger denomination Traveler's
Cheques and changing enough to last for some
days. Banks accept both Dollar and sterling.
Other major currency Traveler's Cheques are
also accepted in some larger cities. If you
are traveling to remote areas it is advised
that you buy Indian Rupee Traveler's Cheques
from a major bank, as these are more widely
accepted than foreign currency ones.
Credit
cards
Major credit cards are increasingly accepted
in the main centers, though in smaller cities
and towns it is still rare to be able to pay
by credit card. Visa and Master Card have
a growing number of ATMs in major cities,
but many ATMs only deal with local account
holder. HDFC bank have the facility of withdrawing
money from you overseas account. You can use
their ATM m/s to withdraw money in Indian
Rupee, presently there branches are in Jaipur,
Jodhpur and Udaipur only in Rajasthan. Railway
Reservation center 17 major cities are now
taking payment for train tickets by visa card
which can be very quick as the queue is very
short.
International
transfers
Don't run out of money in India unless you
have a credit card against which you can draw
traveller's Cheques or cash. You can also
use HDFC ATM facility to withdraw money from
your overseas account, but there is a limit
of Rs 15,000 in a day. Having money transferred
through the banking system can be time consuming.
It's usually straightforward if you use a
foreign/private banks elsewhere it may take
a fortnight and will be a hassle.
You can also use Western Union for money transfer
and they are having agents in Rajasthan.
The Financial Year in India is
from 1st April to 31st March.
Exchange
Rate
1 USD - 43.8600
1 Euro - 66.4100
1 GBP - 83.8800
1 Yen - 39.5800
Source:
Reserve Bank of India (as on 31st March, 2007
)
Cost of travelling
Cost of travelling depends how you spend money,
your budget and the comfort level you are
looking for. We divide in three categories:
10-12 USD:
The cheapest, you stay in dormitories
or in cheap hotel, travel by ordinary bus,
eat regular Indian food like dhal (curried
lentils), roti and rice.
30-40
USD (Budget Travel):
Most of the travellers comes in this category.
You travel in luxury bus, take auto rickshaws
for local transport, stay in reasonable hotel
(sometime even in AC rooms, and off beaten
heritage hotels), good food.
70-75
USD: You stay in AC rooms, travel
in taxi, travel by AC coaches, eat at good
restaurants. |
