What's Illegal inIndia?

The single thing worth knowing first: Beef banned in many states (up to 10 years prison). E-cigarettes completely banned. Some states are fully dry (no alcohol). It is the kind of rule that looks minor at home and becomes a serious problem at the border or in public, which is exactly why it tops this page.

Within everyday activities and public behavior, India treats Drinking in public, Smoking in public, and Littering, among others, as off-limits. Carrying or doing any of these can mean confiscation, fines, or detention depending on the case — and a foreign prescription, habit, or "I didn't know" rarely helps once you are stopped. Each entry below links to the official source it is checked against, with the verified ones marked.

Two things travelers regularly get wrong about India: Bhang (a cannabis drink) is legal in some state-licensed shops, but charas and ganja remain illegal under the NDPS Act everywhere; and Carrying a satellite phone or Garmin inReach without a licence is a criminal offence under the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act. Assumptions like these are how otherwise careful visitors end up in trouble, so it is worth checking the specifics rather than guessing.

One important caveat: Beef and alcohol laws differ sharply by state, with Gujarat, Bihar, and Nagaland fully dry and several states banning cow slaughter. Laws and their enforcement can shift between regions and over time, so treat this page as a sourced starting point and confirm anything borderline against the official links before you rely on it.