Stay Connected in New Delhi

An eSIM makes sense for short trips to New Delhi where the time cost of SIM registration outweighs the price difference. Airalo is one provider with India-specific data plans you can install before you board, so you land at IGI with working data the moment you connect to the network. The convenience is real. No kiosk queue. No passport photocopies. No waiting for activation. The downside is cost. A week of Airalo data for India will run you several times what the equivalent local prepaid plan costs, and you typically get data only, no Indian phone number for receiving OTPs (which matters more than you'd think, since hotel check-ins, ride-hailing apps like Ola and Uber India, and even some restaurant payment flows occasionally text a verification code). For trips under ten days, eSIM usually wins. For anything longer, the maths flips toward a local SIM.

Three carriers matter here: Jio, Airtel, and Vi. At Indira Gandhi International Airport, you'll find Airtel and Jio kiosks in the arrivals hall of Terminal 3, typically open during peak international arrival windows but not strictly 24/7. Fair warning if you land at 3am. In the city, official carrier stores (look for Airtel Store, Jio Store, or Vi branded outlets in Connaught Place, Khan Market, and most major markets) are more reliable than the small mobile shops, which sometimes can't process tourist SIMs because the KYC system is finicky with foreign passports. Skip convenience stores. They generally cannot sell tourist SIMs in India. Prices vary. Check carrier websites on arrival. But tourist prepaid plans with a week of data tend to be inexpensive by Western standards. You'll need your passport, your Indian visa, two passport-size photos (the kiosk usually takes one on the spot), and a local address (your hotel works). Bring it all. Activation under the DoT's tele-verification rules typically takes anywhere from an hour to 24 hours, and you'll get a verification call in English to confirm before the line goes live. One Delhi-specific tip: airport kiosks sometimes charge a premium over city stores for the same plan, so if you have a working eSIM or roaming to bridge the first day, the Connaught Place outlets often work out cheaper.

On cost, a local Indian SIM wins by a wide margin. Prepaid data in New Delhi ranks among the cheapest in the world. On convenience, eSIM wins clearly. Install before you fly. Skip the registration paperwork entirely. Land connected. On coverage, it's effectively a tie. eSIM providers like Airalo piggyback on the same Jio or Airtel networks you'd use directly, so the underlying signal is identical. International roaming from your home carrier is the worst of all three on cost, occasionally fine on convenience if your home plan includes India, and identical on coverage. For most travelers in New Delhi, the choice is eSIM for short trips, local SIM for longer ones.