For cultural etiquette:

• “Namaste” greeting, with palms together in front of the chest, is a significant cultural gesture symbolising respect.
• Dress conservatively – Women should cover shoulders and knees.
• Remove shoes before entering temples and homes.
• Use your right hand for eating and passing objects.
• Ask permission before photographing people.

And more generally –

• Be prepared for spicy food – Even Western dishes often have spice.
• Carry small bills – You’ll need 100 rupee notes for many purchases.
• Watch your step – Streets can be dirty and crowded.
• Health & Safety: Get vaccinations and be careful with (street) food and ice.
• In the Himalayas, acclimatisation is crucial when trekking at high altitudes. Carry necessary medications and stay hydrated. Dress in layers, as temperatures can vary significantly. With good quality gear including trekking shoes and backpack.

Due to its vast size and varied topography, India experiences a diverse climate with distinct weather patterns across different regions. Generally:

December to February: Winter – Northern India experiences cold weather, with temperatures often dropping to single digits in some areas. Southern India remains relatively mild and pleasant.
Best time to visit Agra, when the weather is pleasant

March to May: Spring – Temperatures begin to rise, particularly in northern and central India. Generally dry. Ideal for Himalaya trekking when the weather is mild, and blooming flowers enhance the beauty of trails.

June to August: Summer – The monsoon season begins, bringing heavy rainfall, especially to western and southern India. Temperatures can soar in the northern plains before the rains arrive.
Agra can reach 100°F/38°C.

September to November: Post-Monsoon – The rains gradually retreat, and temperatures start to decrease. There can still be some rainfall, particularly in the eastern regions.
In the Himalayas, autumn offers clear skies and pleasant temperatures, perfect for trekking.

India Weather Variations

November to January: In Delhi, while mild, there can be heavy smog, especially late November – December. Visitors should be prepared for potential air quality issues during these months.

May is Delhi’s hottest month during which temperatures may reach 45 °C (113 °F) or higher. and characterised by frequent thunderstorms.

Dust storms are another feature of Delhi’s summer, and can be severe and destructive when accompanied by strong winds, particularly under cumulonimbus formation.

India Climate Change Trends

India is ranked fourth among the countries most affected by the climate crisis, with significant risks to its economy, environment, and people. (State of India’s Environment-2022)

Average temperatures in India have increased by 0.7°C (1.3°F) between 1901 and 2018. Projections indicate that temperatures could rise by as much as 1.8°C by 2050 under high carbon pathways.

The frequency and intensity of heatwaves are increasing, with severe heatwaves becoming 100 times more likely due to climate change. By 2050, heatwaves could increase by 2,515%, significantly impacting public health and agriculture.

Monsoon patterns are becoming more erratic, affecting agricultural productivity and water availability. This includes both extreme rainfall events and prolonged droughts.

Temperature rises on the Tibetan Plateau are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat, impacting the flow of major rivers like the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Yamuna, which millions of people depend on for agriculture and drinking water.

Coastal regions, including the Sundarbans, are experiencing rising sea levels, leading to the displacement of thousands of people and threatening coastal ecosystems. With storm surges in addition, significant coastal erosion and flooding is caused, putting infrastructure and communities at risk.

Elevated ocean temperatures have caused significant coral bleaching events, particularly in the Lakshadweep and Andaman Islands, affecting marine biodiversity.

Forest degradation is also impacting biodiversity, and the livelihoods of communities dependent on forest resources.

Communities’ nutrition and farmers’ crop yields are also impacted by droughts and heatwaves effect on agricultural productivity.

Cities are facing increased risks, floods and heatwaves, which can damage infrastructure and harm public health.

Rising temperatures and air pollution are exacerbating health issues, including heat-related illnesses and respiratory problems.

India’s climate change trends highlight the urgent need for comprehensive adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the multifaceted challenges posed by a changing climate.

Efforts are being made to develop climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable water management practices, and climate-resilient agricultural techniques to mitigate impacts.

India is incredibly diverse, with numerous religions, ethnic groups and 22 official languages shaping its culture over thousands of years. Hindi and English serve as the primary languages for government and business.

While India is a secular state, religion plays a central role in daily life. Hinduism is the most practiced religion, followed by Islam, Christianity, and others.

The family unit is central to Indian society, with joint families still common. Arranged marriages remain prevalent, though “love marriages” are increasing in urban areas.

Indian food is diverse and known for its extensive use of spices and herbs. Culinary traditions vary significantly across regions.

Traditional Indian clothing is colourful and varies by region, though Western clothing is common in urban areas.

India has rich traditions in literature, dance, music, and cinema, including ancient epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Traditions: Many customs and traditions, such as removing shoes before entering homes or temples, continue to be observed in modern Indian society.

Respect for elders, hospitality towards guests, and community-oriented celebrations are important aspects of Indian culture.

Festivals: India celebrates through vibrant festivals, reflecting its religious and cultural diversity, including:

Diwali: The five-day-long Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions across the country. India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, it symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil, featuring the lighting of lamps, fireworks, and festive meals. It takes place between October and November, with the date changing every year.

Holi: The Festival of Colours marks the arrival of spring and is celebrated with exuberant throwing of coloured powders and water, music, and dance, symbolising love and joy (typically in March).

Eid al-Fitr: Celebrated by Muslims across India, this festival marks the end of Ramadan with communal prayers, feasting, and giving of alms to the poor.

Navratri/Dussehra: A nine-night festival dedicated to the worship of the goddess Durga, culminating in Dussehra, which celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. The festival occurs twice a year; first in Chaitra (March/April), and then in Ashvin (September/October).

Christmas: Celebrated by Christians across India, festive decorations, church services, and family gatherings, have a special emphasis in states like Goa.

There are many regional variations, and regional- and religion-specific festivals across India.

Overall, the rich cultural tapestry and diverse traditions makes India a complex and fascinating society, blending ancient traditions with modern influences.

Tourism helps in preserving and promoting this rich cultural heritage, and facilitates cultural exchange between domestic and international visitors.

India comprises some of the world’s most biodiverse ecozones, including the Deccan Traps, one of the largest volcanic features on Earth; the Gangetic Plains, a large, fertile basin in northern India formed by the Ganges River and its tributaries; and the Himalaya Mountains.

However, India’s huge scale means it faces huge environmental challenges too, with deforestation, desertification, water scarcity, and waste management ongoing environmental issues.

Pollution is also a major concern, including air pollution, water pollution (from untreated sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff), land pollution and noise pollution.

Plus, India is vulnerable to climate change effects, due to its large population dependent on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry.

India is the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide globally, after the US and China, largely due to population growth and economic development.

Sustainable development: The government has implemented various initiatives and policies to address environmental concerns and promote sustainable development.

India is huge. India has the world’s 4th-largest economy by nominal GDP, the 3rd-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), is the world’s 8th-largest importer and 10th-largest exporter.

India underwent significant economic liberalisation in the 1990s, moving towards a free-market, now a developing mixed planned economy enabling centralised planning and free market capitalism, transitioning from to a more mixed social market economy with a notable public sector in strategic sectors and policies to ensure fair competition and social welfare.

Nearly 70% of India’s GDP is driven by domestic consumption, mainly agriculture, industry, and predominantly services (~55%), including its vital IT industry, generating about 8% of India’s GDP.

With the largest population, it is unsurprising it has the world’s second-largest labour force with more than 600 million workers.

Tourism supports ~46.5 million jobs, around 9.1% of total employment in India, including in medical tourism, eco-tourism, adventure, and spiritual tourism; attracting a wide range of tourists and revenue streams. With a large domestic tourist population, which provides resilience to the sector even when international tourism faces challenges.

The Indian government has recognised tourism as a key sector, with initiatives like the ‘Visit India Year’ and allowing 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), encouraging international investment.

However, the country faces high unemployment, poverty, rising income inequality, and a large rural population (65%) that contributes about 50% of India’s GDP. Tourism is seen as crucial for sustainable and regional development and cultural preservation.

Conservation in India

India has a long history of wildlife conservation dating back to ancient times. Vedic texts contain hymns praising animals, and many animals were associated with deities in Hinduism, providing cultural protection. Ancient rulers took measures to protect wildlife and forests.

More recently in the colonial era, wildlife populations declined significantly during British rule due to extensive hunting. Some early conservation laws were enacted, like the Madras Elephant Protection Act of 1873 and the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1887.

But by 1900, tiger populations had dropped from around 100,000 to 40,000 and the Indian cheetah officially declared extinct in 1952.

After India gained Independence (1947), a turning point came.

1969 saw the 10th Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in New Delhi highlight the dire status of India’s wildlife (IUCN) and World Wildlife Fund – India founded, with Anne Wright playing a pivotal role.

In 1972 (and updates 1977-1987) came the Wildlife Protection Act enacted, providing legal framework for conservation, shortly followed in 1973 by Project Tiger launched by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, initially with 9 tiger reserves (now over 50), and the creation of new wildlife protected areas, national parks, and sanctuaries across the country.

In 1982, the Wildlife Institute of India was established and in 1991 Project Elephant, to protect elephant corridors.

As of 2009, about 4.8% of India’s total area was designated as protected, including national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Conservation efforts have led to recovery of some species, like tigers.

India has laws protecting the environment and is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The country has a dedicated Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Ongoing challenges include human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss, and as ever, balancing development with conservation.

There is strong government emphasis on sustainable tourism policies, including ecotourism certification, “Travel for Life” behavioural campaigns, and state-level eco-sensitive zones.

In India, tourism drives the development of infrastructure including hotels and resorts, but also supporting transportation networks, and healthcare facilities, promoting the growth of multi-use infrastructure beneficial for overall economic development.

Since 2017, Kerala has offered transparent reporting as a leader in responsible tourism in India. The Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission (RT Mission), an autonomous society within the Government of Kerala’s Department for Tourism for “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit”, oversees initiatives and implementation to promote sustainable, community-based tourism.

As such, involved a wide range of stakeholders in its tourism development strategy, including elected representatives, NGOs, policymakers, industry practitioners, community leaders, social activists, environmentalists, media persons, and academicians.

The Kerala RT Mission was first implemented on a pilot basis in four destinations: Kovalam (beach), Kumarakom (backwaters), Thekkady (wildlife), and Wayanad (hill station). Kumarakom was particularly successful, winning several awards for its responsible tourism initiatives, including supporting women-run restaurants and local procurement units.

Since 1961 Goa’s Indian liberation from a Portuguese territory had strategically embraced tourism, leveraging its historical global connections and scenic beaches for economic growth.  However, the State’s primary attraction natural beauty became compromised by the sheer volume of visitors. Beaches, once serene and unspoiled, became littered with waste. Increasing land prices, levels of consumption, and violation of building and land use regulations became prevalent. Locals felt threatened and degraded by inappropriate, violent and abusive behaviour of tourists.

In December 2023, Goa launched a ground-breaking model for regenerative tourism, becoming India’s first state to do so, announced on the on the 62nd anniversary of Goa’s liberation. It aligns with the Manila Declaration of World Tourism of 1980 and a G20 tourism ministers working group meeting in Goa which produced the Goa roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals.

Goa’s new regenerative tourism model emphasises four paths: spirituality, indigeneity, civilisational and cultural nationalism, and conscious tourism. It aims to promote environmental restoration, cultural preservation, and community empowerment.

It will introduce transitioning from a sea-shore-centric tourism model to a more inclusive, people-centric approach that enables community decision-making. It will emphasise homestays to allow visitors to engage with authentic local culture and lifestyle, and introduce Ekadasha Teertha spiritual sites, to be developed in consultation with local communities.

India’s National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism, formulated in 2022, aims to mainstream sustainability in the tourism sector, promoting eco-friendly practices and community involvement.

Mangrove and Sacred Grove Conservation is particularly crucial for climate, biodiversity and environmental health.

The government vision, aligned with India’s broader Vision 2047 economic goals, aims to achieve tourism sector contribution of ~10% of GDP by 2047, which translates to approximately $3 trillion to $4 trillion in tourism GDP contribution, given the expected size of the economy

India is the 3rd largest producer of renewable energy and 3rd largest consumer of electricity globally.

In the 1980s, India was one of the first countries to establish a Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (now the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) and small-scale hydroelectric projects, solar energy programs, and biomass utilisation.

Launched in 2008, India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) NAPCC outlined eight missions to promote sustainable development and address climate change, including the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) launched in 2010 to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, with ambitious targets of energy creation expanded through the 2010s, developing an energy mix with wind, biomass and hydro in addition to solar whose adoption it promotes globally in an Alliance with France.

At the 2021 COP26 summit, India announced the “Panchamrit” plan, including further reaching targets for non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2070.

Renewable electricity is growing at a faster rate in India than in any other major economy, with new capacity additions on track to double by 2026., thanks for technological advancements and steady policy support, making solar power plants cheaper to build than coal ones, and subsidies for electric vehicles.

However, despite progress, India faces challenges such as energy security risks, reliance on coal, high levels of pollution in urban areas, and vulnerability to the climate crisis.

India’s sustainability success spans various sectors, reflecting a commitment to balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Policy and support in renewable energy, technological investment, innovation and integration, and conservation of protected areas and community-based tourism have created jobs, supported local economies and empowered communities.

India’s initiatives reflect a commitment to creating a balanced and sustainable future, addressing both its huge current challenges and future goals.