General Information
Climate:
October in Delhi brings pleasant post-monsoon weather, with temperatures ranging between approximately 19.2C to 31.8C. Delhi weather in October experiences nearly 11 hours of sunlight daily, along with occasional showers. The humidity levels start to drop, and the refreshing warm breeze continues. The city’s landscapes remain lush and vibrant, making October an ideal month for travellers.
Clothing:
There is no particular dress-code for the conference. There are no clothing restrictions in the city as well, however use your discretion and dress appropriately when visiting public places. Religious places in the city (temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras) might have dress code restrictions.
Currency:
The official currency is the Indian Rupee (INR). Major credit and debit cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and mobile wallets like Paytm, Google Pay, and PhonePe are extensively used for seamless digital transactions across the city. Currency exchange services are available at the airport and authorized forex centers. You may check for the same at your hotel too.
Payments:
Visa and Mastercard Credit and Debit cards are generally accepted in all major hotels and shops. American Express has limited acceptance. Point of sale machines that accept cards with chip and PIN.
However, you are advised to confirm the merchant if they would accept cards beforehand.
UPI (United Payments Interface) is widely used in India for digital payments (using QR codes or phone numbers).
Language:
The official language of the conference is English. The local language predominantly spoken in Delhi is Hindi, while English is commonly used in business, academic, and hospitality settings. International delegates will have no difficulty communicating in English at the airport, hotels, and at the venue as Hindi and English both are widely spoken in the city.
Time Zone:
Indian Standard Time (IST) is observed throughout the country and is UTC +5:30. India does not observe daylight saving time.
Local Commuting / Transport:
- Airport Taxi – Taxi Service is available from IGIA to Yashobhoomi, New Delhi and in/around downtown. You will see the counters right outside the arrival terminal.
- Uber/ Ola services are available to pick up from airport at the arrivals. For more info you can approach their counters at the airport. For Ola and Uber, we would request you to download the app prior to the arrival at the airport.
For movement in the city, taxis and autos are easily available in Delhi. Delhi Metro is, clearly, the quickest, affordable and one of the best ways to get around Delhi, with an average frequency of one metro every five minutes.
Visa:
International participants are required to obtain a Conference Visa to attend the event. The organisers will get in touch with you for further information/ instructions.
The official portal to apply for the same is www.indianvisaonline.gov.in.
Electricity:
India uses Type C, D, and M power sockets with a standard voltage of 230V and frequency of 50Hz. International visitors may need a plug adapter and/or voltage converter.
Safety and Security:
- Personal Safety: Delhi is a safe city to travel and visit. However, please take care of your belongings while using public transport, avoid venturing alone late at night to unknown or deserted places, and exercise basic caution and use your judgement to be safe.
- Follow the same rules of safety that you follow while travelling anywhere else with respect to using hotel safe deposit boxes and keeping travel documents safe. When in public places, keep them in your hotel or with you all the time when moving about. Always carry the hotel address with you when you leave the hotel.
- It is common to ask passersby for directions when confused/lost and people are usually helpful.
Road and Pedestrian Safety:
The rules of the road are simply very different here in India. Indian roads can be chaotic – please be mindful of vehicular traffic. City traffic generally is much slower than in some other parts of the world, and it is very common to see animals amongst moving traffic. Use great caution when crossing streets – pedestrians usually do not get the right of way while crossing roads. Horn blowing is deemed precautionary and is a constant 24-hour reality. Please do not expect sidewalks/footpaths and zebra crossings to be available on all roads.
Water:
Always drink bottled water. Do not drink water from the tap. However, tap water is safe to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth.
Connectivity:
Wi-Fi connectivity is available at most cafes, restaurants and shopping malls. We suggest you get an Indian SIM with data connection. 4G mobile data is cheap (costs around ₹500 for a connection valid for a month with a 2GB/day limit) and would be very useful.
Smoking:
All public areas are non-smoking except for specifically labelled smoking areas.
Alcohol Consumption:
There are plenty of shops selling liquor of all varieties where the price will be around 50% less than the same brand served in a hotel. The pubs/ bars/ restaurants generally are open till 11 PM (local time), unless mentioned specifically. Individuals who wish to continue to partake of alcoholic beverages after 11 PM may only do so via room service orders within the hotel/s.
Insurance and Liability:
The organizers do not take responsibility for any individual, medical, travel or personal insurance. Participants are advised to secure their own insurance policies before departure from their countries, as required.
While every attempt is made to ensure efficient, trouble-free hospitality, including hotel accommodation, sightseeing and tours, participants are advised that no liability accrues to the Organizers in the event of any necessary modifications, including change in itineraries for tours due to delays or cancellations of flights/other exigencies beyond the Organizers’ control.
Restrictions on Export of Articles:
- Export of all wild animals indigenous to the country and articles made from such listed animals like skins, pelts, furs, ivory, rhino horns, trophies are totally banned.
- Banned items do not include peacock feathers and handicrafts made from them.
- Antiques which include sculpture, painting or other works of arts or crafts illustrative of science, art, craft, religion of bygone ages and of historical interest which have been in existence for not less than 100 years may not be exported from India.
- Manuscripts or other documents of scientific, historical literary or aesthetic value in existence for not less that seventy-five years: art treasures not necessarily antiques but of artistic or aesthetic value, also cannot be exported out of India.
Food and Drinks:
- Please note that tap water is unsafe and must be avoided. Most hotels/restaurants provide filtered/RO water which is safe to drink. During the conference, water dispensers with clean and safe drinking water will be made available.
- Be careful about the provenance of what you eat. Steer clear of uncooked or unpeeled fruit and vegetables outside the hotels / quality restaurants. Do sample local restaurants too, but use your discretion with regards to hygiene and food quality.
- We suggest that you eat meats only in hygienic restaurants.
- We suggest that you do not eat fried food cooked in the streets – unless you are confident of your digestive system
Tipping and Gratuities:
Tipping Practices are similar to most other parts of the world. Most restaurants include a service charge of 10% in the bills, but tipping in general is at customers’ discretion which could vary from 2% to 8%. The local currency is preferred while tipping. Naturally, it is never compulsory and should only be done if you are happy with the service. However, tipping is not a common practice while using a radio taxi/ call taxi (like Uber, Ola) or even autos (tuktuks).
