Thursday, September 30, 2010

Currency Controls

For those of you planning on taking some INR to India, please change the plan.  The Indian government has currency control restrictions in place, and any INR that you have in your possession may be forfeit at immigration.  There are a heap of ATMs available in Calcutta, and you can use your Visa/Mastercard in them to get cash on arrival (Diners or Amex : good luck...)   Please take special note that your card is unlikely to work in India unless has the PLUS logo on the reverse side. This logo replaces the old CIRRUS /MAESTRO logo, and is three triangles to the left of the word ‘PLUS’.  You will still be able to use your normal Visa/Mastercard in shops, banks, etc – it just won’t work in the ATM network for cash withdrawals.