The Indian Rupee is the original official currency of India. The English translation of "Rupee" is "silver," and the name exists because it was previously a silver coin. This very fact had severe consequences in the 19th century, when the strongest economies in the world were on the gold standard. The discovery of vast quantities of silver in the U.S. and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Today the Indian Rupee is available in denominations of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1000. One rupee is split into a hundred paise, available in denominations of 10p, 25p and 50p. There are coins for Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5.
India is an economical country, with the basics — accommodation, food and transport — available in a range of prices. Be prepared to pay more in the larger cities such as Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi, as well as at popular tourist destinations.
As costs vary nationwide, the best way of ascertaining how much money you'll require for your trip is to peruse the relevant regional chapters of this book. In relation to sightseeing, foreigners are often charged more than Indian citizens for entry into tourist sites (admission prices for foreigners are sometimes given in US dollars, payable in the rupee equivalent), and there may also be additional charges for still/video cameras.
Roughly speaking, if you stick to a tight budget you can manage on around Rs 400 to 500 per day (but budget for at least double that in some big cities and tourist hubs). This means staying in budget hotels, travelling on the cheaper buses and train classes, eating basic meals and doing limited sightseeing. If you wish to stay in mid-range hotels, dine at nicer restaurants, do a reasonable amount of sightseeing and largely travel by autorickshaw and taxi, you're looking at anywhere between Rs 850 and 1600 per day. Of course, you may be able to subsist on less in India's smaller, less touristy towns.
Accommodation prices may be influenced by factors such as location. Tariffs can shoot up during festivals or other special events, with some hotels charging at least double the normal rate during these times. It would be misleading of us to pinpoint an exact countrywide average accommodation cost (due to broad regional variations), but most hotels around the country fall somewhere between the following ranges: in the budget category, single rooms roughly range from Rs 100 to 350, and doubles from Rs 200 to 500. For more comfort opt for midrange hotels, where you should expect to pay anywhere between Rs 300 and 1200 for a single and between Rs 400 and 1600 for a double. Budget and midrange hotel prices are usually higher in big cities (especially Mumbai) and tourist hot spots. At the upper end of the spectrum there's a bevy of sumptuous five-star properties (including some stunning palace-hotels), where you can easily spend at least US$150 per night.
Eating out in India is sizzling-hot value, with meals for as little as Rs 40 at budget eateries, and usually little more than double that for a satiating midrange restaurant meal.
Regarding long-distance travel, there's a range of classes on trains and several bus types, resulting in considerable flexibility vis-a-vis comfort and price. Domestic air travel is no bargain. Hopefully fares will be more competitive with the expected introduction of low-cost airlines from mid-2005. Within towns there's inexpensive public transport, or perhaps you'd like to hire a car with driver, which is especially good value if there are several of you to split the cost.
