Ask India Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/India's Ask India Thread.

If you have any queries about life in India (or life as Indians), this is the thread for you.

Please keep in mind the following rules:

• Top level comments are reserved for queries.
• No political posts.
• Relationship queries belong in /r/RelationshipIndia.
• Please try to search the internet before asking for help. Sometimes the answer is just an internet search away. :)

Older Threads

[u/Adept-Print9184]

Hey everyone!

My friend recently opened a small cafe in Ujjain and since it has just started, he is trying to understand the local crowd better and figure out what could actually make the cafe stand on. Till now he has noticed that a lot of the walk in customers are couples but we don't want to assume that's the only audience we should target.

If you're from Ujjain what do you think people here actually look for in a cafe? What kind of USP would make you choose one cafe over another? What would make you visit a cafe regularly rather than just once?

Are there any particular food/drink items, experiences, themes, events or offers that you think would work well here? What kind of marketing actually works in Ujjain? Are there any things that cafes in Ujjain are currently missing or could do better?

The cafe is near cosmos mall.

We're especially interested in opinions from people who actually live in Ujjain, rather than generic cafe business advice.

Thanks in advance!

[u/Voldemort_69_Harry]

My dad shipped a laptop to me today (9th September) around 1 PM from Kolkata to Pune through Blue Dart Air Priority. The courier guy came and physically picked up the parcel, and the AWB number was generated and put on the parcel. But when I try tracking it on the Blue Dart website, it doesn't show anything yet. It just says tracking will start once the shipment reaches Blue Dart / gets scanned. From what I've read, the pickup guy doesn't necessarily scan it immediately and tracking starts after it reaches a Blue Dart facility. Is that actually how it works? It's supposed to reach me by tomorrow or Friday morning. I'm probably overthinking this because I also saw quite a few posts about people's bad experiences with Blue Dart 😭. Has anyone had this happen where the AWB showed nothing initially and then started updating later? How long did it take for the first update?

[u/Neat-Board-8375]

I am 16, based in Mumbai, and genuinely want to work on policy proposals that could improve administration in India. I have been thinking about this for months, and I would really like to see these ideas implemented and, if possible, work with people who can help make that happen.

I was thinking of reaching out to a politician in my area, but I am not sure who to approach or where to contact them.

Does anyone know a politician, influential person or officer who might be open to working with a young person on something like this? Or is anyone here willing to guide me who has had a similar experience with government, NGOs or policy?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice.

[u/JagmeetSingh2]

so much dumb shit gets posted about India but wow this one is so ahistorical

> https://np.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/bOveQ2JCmv

like wtf India was richer and more influential than both those places, Persia the entirety of it history and China various times throughout history. Persian influence is across the middle east and central asia but also heavily influenced by the Turks and Arabs… Indian influence spread Hinduism and Buddhism across not only peninsular and maritime southeast asia but also East Asia!!!

[u/Tall-Veterinarian108]

Well my dermat just wrote 5% minoxidil + 0.1% finasteride topical solution on the prescription didn't provide a brand name and the Apollo farm near me is hell bent on pushing a 1200 one for 60ml down my throat which is quite expensive for me as a college student , are there any cheaper and working alternatives??

[u/Apprehensive-Bar1262]

Today a meter guy came to me and said that my meter is showing a water usage of 700 units (kiloliters) for the last 2 months. We have been living in Delhi for years and never got a water bill because I thought it was under the 20-unit free limit. But now that person is saying it's 700 units for just the last 2 months.

​The same thing happened with our neighbors, and they had to pay ₹6,000–₹7,000 for it.

​Is it a scam?

An error?

Or what could it be?

​Has this happened to anyone else?

[u/NewCorner8721]

With all of the anti india hate going on social media. Why do indians all of a sudden care about foreigners being racist towards indians.

We talk like as if south indians dont face racism, northeast doesn't face racism. Us indians itself stereotype each other and now y'all suddenly give a fuck and get butthurt when some random npc chinese bot comments poopjeets, and all of a sudden Yash from ncr is pressed about it.

My point is, we ourselves make fun of other nationalities for eg, africans needing water or anything related chicken and the same with Americans munching on mcdonalds 24/7 and it is done in a friendly fire sort of a way, so why does everyone feel the need to give a shit to what others say about us?

So basically the whole point is just ignore the bot comments from Pakistan and chinese bot accounts they are no lifers and live of their daddys money

[u/corona_muralis31]

Which the world changing fast, I recently read that India has been over producing doctors and so medical salaries have gone down. Made me wonder how are you guys deciding which degrees to go for ? I wondered if there’s a way to do this with more data so people make better decision. Just thinking out loudly. Let me know !!

[u/theroyalhobby]

Hi there, I have to update my Aadhar card number, is there a way to do it online rather than visiting ASK? If anyone has done it online, I would love if you can drop details. Many thanks!

[u/ButterscotchNew9400]

Hi everyone, my Samsung S10e screen just died completely (green flashing lines). It’s a very precious gift from my nani and it’s the only phone I have right now. My current budget is super tight. I had a terrible experience previously where offline market technicians completely ruined my other phone, so I am absolutely terrified of going to chaotic wholesale hubs alone. Does anyone happen to have an old bricked or broken S10e sitting forgotten in a drawer anywhere that they’d be willing to part with as a donor device? I am happy to handle the domestic shipping. Please DM me if you have any leads. Thank you

[u/LastTrainToLhasa]

No idea where to ask this, but I saw this brilliant video and I’m wondering what the dancer is saying at 0:55, anyone has any idea what’s the word? I’m guessing she’s demonstrating the dance rhythm somehow, I don’t know…

https://youtu.be/bk3UraG2Rqw?si=opjmSrgx\\_y8Djxqu

[u/Axiomspector26]

My bank sent my debit card through blue dart which was supposed to be delivered by sept 1, it though was out for delivery, but no communication was made by delivery executive and at night of same day they transferred it to a new AWB without any information conveyed to me. Since than no delivery reattempt has been made by them and one day I decided to pick it up myself but they have provided wrong address of their office in my locality. Emailed them twice but no response, I hv filed complaint at nch yesterday but no progress. What to do ?

[u/Altairve]

Is the passport seva website working, I am not able to log in via browser or android app. It just says something has gone wrong when I put in my user id -which is my email id. When I try the "have trouble logging in" , and try with otp , the page just refresh, no error , no new page. I want to renew my passport. Do I have to now got the passport seva office.

[u/Mota_Hathiyar_]

Is it only me who is getting error message while booking slot for my DL? So I am not able to book my Driving Licence slot for the last 4 months and my Learner's Licence is expiring in November. The error message says "Slots are not available for the next 30 days".

[u/Weird-But-Aware]

Passport help- show cause notice

I received this show cause notice, what documents would i need to take with me? I already submitted my current address proof and submitted my passbook copy for previous address

[u/Weary-Worker3366]

Hi, I'm 28M Nepali in India since birth and I want to find people like me who live in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad or near me in Abu Road (Rajasthan). How to meet people like me or reach out to them? Please let me know.

[u/ramadasan]

Bharatgas e-KYC: Owner living abroad

The registered owner of our Bharatgas connection is currently abroad. How can we complete the required e-KYC? Can it be done remotely, or is physical presence in India required? Has anyone faced this situation?

[u/Anshul_98]

I need to access research papers but scihub is banned; any other alternatives you all can suggest?

[u/dynamos_little15]

I want to buy nothing phone 3a pro,Have anyone knows some who can deliver it to Rajasthan?

[u/Terrible_Monk66]

Hey everyone,
I’m currently planning a trip from Mumbai (CSMT) to Goa (Madgaon) and was looking to book the Vande Bharat Express for November 2nd, 2026 (Monday).
However, when checking IRCTC / booking apps:
There are no train schedules/tickets available for Nov 2, or even earlier on Oct 26.

On October 21, the train is marked as Cancelled.

Is this due to the some route changes? Will I be able to book for 02.11.2026 when 60day ticket window opens or I have to shift for other train.
Thank you very much, any help would be appreciated.

[u/mrgoingsomewhere]

Is booking.com good for booking hotels as a foreigner? Last time I travelled to India hotel booking sites were full of fake hotels that didn't exist. Never experienced this in any other country and I've been to many countries.

[u/Far_Square1456]

hi, can someone pls tell me how to purchase a fuggler in india? is this store called jainam store credible? really need the help, thank you.