Monday, February 06, 2006
Indian Currency
The purpose of this article is to provide an introduction to the Indian rupee and how to deal with money issues in India.
Currently, there are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupee notes. In addition to the notes there are paise and rupee coins of the denominations 10 paise, 20 paise, 25 paise, 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees and five rupees. Apart from paise and rupee India has invented denominations for large rupee amounts; 100,000 rupees equal 1 lakh and 10,000,000 rupees equal 1 crore.
Torn notes or notes that are in a bad state are not legitimate currency. These notes have to be changed to valid currency at the Reserve Bank of India or at any other large commercial bank. Do not give torn notes to beggars. It is insulting and the money is useless to them.
Exchanging money
The general rule when exchanging foreign currency to rupees is to only use private or international banks. The private banks ICICI and HDFC are perceived to offer good service. International banks like Citibank, ScotiaBank and HSBC can be found in cities. State banks like SBI (State Bank of India) should be avoided due to inefficiency and a general lack of service. Alternatively, Thomas Cook in Bangalore and Kochi should offer good rates. It is possible to transfer foreign currency to rupees to an Indian bank account through ICICI's Money2India Internet service.
The banking hours are Monday to Friday (10.00 till 14.00 or 16.00) and Saturday (10.00 till 12.00).
Do not bother with travellers' checks since these are notoriously hard to shift. Bring a Mastercard or Visa card that will work in India (ask the card provider). There are plenty of ATMs. However, before inserting the card, ask the Indian provider if the card can be used in the ATM, even if the ATM displays a Visa/Mastercard sign. American dollars is the preferred foreign currency in India, but using British pounds should not be a problem.
It is strictly forbidden to take rupees in and out of India. In order to change excess rupees back into pounds it is necessary to keep any exchange receipts (encashment certificates). The receipts are also needed to buy air and train tickets with rupees.
Instant conversion method
Mentally converting rupees to pounds is often a problem because of the large rupee values. However, by using the Instant Conversion Method it is possible to do calculations on the spot without having to pull out a calculator. In order to be able to do the calculations two numbers have to be used: A/100 and A/1000 where A is the rupee value. If, for instance, the rupee value is 2800 the two numbers are 28 and 2.8 (the sign "/" means divided by and the sign "*" means multiplied by).
How these two numbers are used to caluculate the pound value depends on the exchange rate. If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 100 the Instant Conversion Method can simply be described as A/100. So, Rs. 2800 equals £28.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 91 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + (A/1000). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £2.8.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 83 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*2). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £5.6.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 77 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*3). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £8.4.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 72 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*4). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £11.2.
Currently, there are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupee notes. In addition to the notes there are paise and rupee coins of the denominations 10 paise, 20 paise, 25 paise, 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees and five rupees. Apart from paise and rupee India has invented denominations for large rupee amounts; 100,000 rupees equal 1 lakh and 10,000,000 rupees equal 1 crore.
Torn notes or notes that are in a bad state are not legitimate currency. These notes have to be changed to valid currency at the Reserve Bank of India or at any other large commercial bank. Do not give torn notes to beggars. It is insulting and the money is useless to them.
Exchanging money
The general rule when exchanging foreign currency to rupees is to only use private or international banks. The private banks ICICI and HDFC are perceived to offer good service. International banks like Citibank, ScotiaBank and HSBC can be found in cities. State banks like SBI (State Bank of India) should be avoided due to inefficiency and a general lack of service. Alternatively, Thomas Cook in Bangalore and Kochi should offer good rates. It is possible to transfer foreign currency to rupees to an Indian bank account through ICICI's Money2India Internet service.
The banking hours are Monday to Friday (10.00 till 14.00 or 16.00) and Saturday (10.00 till 12.00).
Do not bother with travellers' checks since these are notoriously hard to shift. Bring a Mastercard or Visa card that will work in India (ask the card provider). There are plenty of ATMs. However, before inserting the card, ask the Indian provider if the card can be used in the ATM, even if the ATM displays a Visa/Mastercard sign. American dollars is the preferred foreign currency in India, but using British pounds should not be a problem.
It is strictly forbidden to take rupees in and out of India. In order to change excess rupees back into pounds it is necessary to keep any exchange receipts (encashment certificates). The receipts are also needed to buy air and train tickets with rupees.
Instant conversion method
Mentally converting rupees to pounds is often a problem because of the large rupee values. However, by using the Instant Conversion Method it is possible to do calculations on the spot without having to pull out a calculator. In order to be able to do the calculations two numbers have to be used: A/100 and A/1000 where A is the rupee value. If, for instance, the rupee value is 2800 the two numbers are 28 and 2.8 (the sign "/" means divided by and the sign "*" means multiplied by).
How these two numbers are used to caluculate the pound value depends on the exchange rate. If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 100 the Instant Conversion Method can simply be described as A/100. So, Rs. 2800 equals £28.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 91 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + (A/1000). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £2.8.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 83 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*2). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £5.6.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 77 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*3). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £8.4.
If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 72 the Instant Conversion Method can be described as (A/100) + ((A/1000)*4). So, Rs. 2800 equals £28 + £11.2.
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Monday, February 06, 2006.
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