The climate in March in Delhi is dry; it does not rain often. The average temperatures are between 20°C and 33°C.You can expect a few rainy days in Delhi during March, but usually the weather is comfortable.
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.
Transportation from the New Delhi Airport (Terminals 1, 2 & 3) is easy with multiple options available. Below is the information on transportation from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). The airport is 12.4 kms from the India Habitat Centre with a travel time of 25-30 minutes depending upon the time of the day.
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.
India has only one time zone which covers the entire country. Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT.
The official language of the conference is English. The local language predominantly spoken in Delhi is Hindi. However, more than 40% of the city's population consists of people from all other states of India. Hence, Hindi and English both are widely spoken in the city.
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.
India uses power plugs and sockets of types C, D and M (https://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/in/india/) though we can find universal sockets in some hotels.
Indian Rupee (₹, INR) is the sole currency accepted in hotels and shops in India. Indian rupee banknotes come in denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 with coins in denominations of 10, 5, 2, 1 rupee. 100 and 200 rupee banknotes are the most used. You can exchange major currencies into INR at the airport or major banks (IISc has a bank that can help exchange currency). Please log onto www.xe.com to calculate the approximate current currency values.
All the International Banks are represented by Branches in Delhi. Bank Hours are 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM from Monday to Friday and 9.30 am -1.30 pm on Saturdays. The 2nd & 4th Saturdays in the month are holidays for the banks in India.
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).
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.
Always drink bottled water. Do not drink water from the tap. However, tap water is safe to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth.
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.
All public areas are non-smoking except for specifically labelled smoking areas.
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.
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.
The historical capital, Delhi is a foodies’ paradise. From street food to international cuisines, Delhi, or as we lovingly call ‘Dilli’, can blow your mind in every expanse.
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's never compulsory and should only be done if you're 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).
Though it is not mandatory wearing a mask in India anymore, we suggest you to please wear the mask at all times and sanitize hands on regular intervals. Any change in the local law/ protocol due to COVID-19 will be communicated at regular intervals as applicable. The conference will be taking all necessary precautions as per the local COVID-19 norms.
Others