Health
Please consult your physician regarding health precautions prior to visiting India. If you are coming from or have recently visited Africa, South America or an area infected with Yellow Fever within five days prior to your arrival in India, proof of vaccination against Yellow Fever is required.
Click here for a map of the yellow fever endemic zones.
Drinking bottled water at all times is strongly recommended.
Electricity
The voltage in India is 230 volts. You will require a voltage converter if you are carrying a device that does not accept 230 Volts. Wall sockets accept plugs with two or three round pins. Should you wish to use appliances of 110 volts, most Conference Hotels will provide adaptors on request but it may be useful to carry your own for convenience. Most laptops have adaptors that accept 110-240 volts, but will still need plugs of the type shown below.
Three Pin:
Typical Indian 3-Pin and 2-Pin plugs. The separation between the two smaller round pins is 2 cm.
Two Pin: |
Sockets: |
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Local Time
Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours 30 mins’ ahead of GMT.
Smoking Policy
All public areas are non-smoking except for specifically labeled smoking areas.
Alcohol Consumption
There are plenty of shops selling liquor of all varieties where the price will at least 50% less than the same brand served in a hotel.
As a result of current legislation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, it is generally illegal to serve alcohol in public places after 10.30 p.m. Therefore, as a general rule, kindly note that ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES can be available at any bar (including those in hotels) after this cut-off time. Individuals who wish to continue to partake of alcoholic beverages after 10.35 p.m. may only do so via room service orders within hotels.
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.
Venue Security
In India we salute the guest with ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ – which means that the Guest is God! Expect to be pampered at hotels and restaurants. Your security is also paramount and all venues in the city give due importance to it. Please expect your bags to be checked / subjected to the luggage scanners at the Airport, Hotels, Shopping Malls, Stores etc. The security personal may frisk you too, but then it is in your own interest and very reassuring.
Tipping In India
In most parts of India, you are advised to tip 10% of the total amount of the bill at restaurants, but you can tip less if the bill is inclusive of service charges. One is not expected to tip taxi drivers. But if you have a hired a cab/taxi for a long period, say a full day, then it is good to tip the driver a small amount. Even if it is only small notes, a small tip will be valued tremendously and accepted with a warm "Thank You".