Get a prepaid connection for your India holiday

Travelling to India on a holiday? Get a good prepaid plan upon arrival, from a leading provider like Airtel.

India is the land of the exotic and the mysterious, and it draws tourists from around the world. Visitors come to India to experience its culture, food and people, and they remain charmed with its alluring warmth.

But many visitors are also boggled by the sheer size and scope of the land. It is a vast country with an ever-changing cultural and geographical landscape. Getting from one place to another, especially for solo backpackers, can get quite difficult. Tourists require a good phone connection for their travels within the country. Fortunately, it is easy enough to get a good connection and prepaid plan in India.

If you are travelling to India soon, you could buy a basic GSM handset in your home country or hire one in India. Do take on board the following rules about buying a prepaid plan in India and how to use your phone connection:

• You may buy a prepaid SIM card at the airport for about Rs 50, but the pack validity is quite low and you will run out of data quite soon. A better idea is to go to the store of a leading provider like Airtel to buy the connection directly. The advantage of doing so is that you can also check the best prepaid plans available at the store.
• Once at the store, you will be shown the current plans being provided. Once you pick the prepaid plan, you must fill out an application form. Do submit copies of the requisite documents that the store will ask for: ID proof (passport copy will suffice) and a latest 2”x 2” passport size photograph. Also show your visa and original passport to complete the application process. The SIM card will not be sold unless these formalities are completed.
• Hand over your phone or hire a basic handset from the store. The store personnel will insert the SIM card and set it up for you.
• A big advantage of buying a prepaid plan from a leading provider’s store is that since your connection is legally procured, you can ask for help from their customer care cell at any time. You can even switch to another plan if the current one is insufficient for your needs, or if you want more daily data.

As a foreign visitor to India, you will need to call your family and friends back home often. The prepaid plan you pick must give you a lot of talk time for the same. You will also need a lot of bandwidth as regards texting, Internet speeds and data, and good customer service. Pick a plan from Airtel, which gives you all these factors and more. The packs are priced low, from Rs 199 to Rs 599, with simple recharge options. Airtel also has the widest network coverage, so you can surf, chat, video call or be in touch with the entire world seamlessly.

Do ensure that you surrender your SIM card to the store before you leave the country. You may surrender your SIM card to any Airtel store in the country.