India Fact Sheet
About India
India’s unique combination of climate, vegetation and geological features creates a range of location that will suit any filming requirement. There is a vivid kaleidoscope of landscapes and magnificent historical sites, as well as golden beaches, misty mountain retreats, colourful people, rich cultures and festivities.
Visa: All non-Indians need visa to enter India. The correct Visa type for shooting purposes is a ‘ J ‘ Visa. Processing time varies from 48 hours on a rush-request to 7 working days. You should have your permission from the Ministry in Delhi in-hand before applying for a ‘ j ‘ visa.
Importing of Equipment: Equipment can come in on a carnet.
Time zone: GMT + 7.5 hours .
Cameras: Alexa and Red are very popular in India and readily available to rent. Now Panavision is available in India with Prasad Ad Labs in Mumbai. .
Weather Conditions: Mansoon is from June to September. The hottest months of the year are April to June in Western & Southern India and May to July in Northern India. Winter is colder the closer you get to the Tropic of Cancer. Snow starts from the middle ranges of the Himalayas.
Cell Phones: Phones in India function on GSM mode. If you have a Tri-Band phone you should be able to make and receive calls in India. We recommend using a local sim-card, as that is far more economical.
Driving: We don’t recommend that foreigners drive themselves. When you rent a car in India, it comes with a driver. That is the safest way to travel.
Permit Process
- If location is a city/ town/ village in that case first we need to take permission from District Magistrate of that area and after that concerned police authorities.
- If location is a forest: –
- If location is a historical site we need to take permit from Archaeological Survey of India.
- If location is a Defence area we need to take permission from Ministry of Defence.
- If location is a sensitive one from internal security point of view in that case permission should be obtain from Ministry of Home Affairs.
- In case of shooting at the Airports of India we need to obtain the permission from the Airport Director of that Airport and incase of shooting at tarmac we need to take permission from the office Director General of Civil Aviation New Delhi & also from the Bureau of civil aviation security New Delhi.
- In case of shooting at Railway Stations/ Train first we need to obtain permit from Railway Board and then State Railway Zone permit.
- In case of Aerial Photography in India one need to apply at least three months before the shoot, as this is the most time consuming permit process. If the DOP is foreign national the permission will take 90 days but if the DOP is Indian it will take 50 days. There are two ministries involved in this permission one is Ministry of civil Aviation and other is Ministry of Defence.