A guide to tipping in India ….
India is primarily a poor nation, particularly in the North. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is extreme and you will see evidence of this everywhere. No matter where you think you sit in the scheme of things nothing you can say will convince anyone that you are anything other than wealthy.
On all of my adventures to India, you will need to budget 500 Indian Rupees per day for tips. If you are in Australia that’s about 8 dollars. You won’t need that every day and other days you will be more generous.
Let me put things in perspective.
The guy who lugged your bags around earns around $400aud per month and the cook in your hotel probably gets around $600 a month. Many, many people ill earn a lot less.
100 or 200 rps, or about 2 to 3 dollars, is a great tip for the guy that carries your bags, good change is is also the general help in the hotel and you will be tipping him again for good service. The same is a good amount for your cook, room cleaner etc.
10 rupees, or about 17 cents aud is a fine amount to give to street side beggars. There are many. My best tip is to horde your small money, try to change larger notes when paying in shops or restaurants. Then keep the smaller notes separately folded in your pocket. Its never a good idea to stand still and fumble in your wallet for change.
