press rank #159 · ~$700/mo

Can you live unwatched in India?

Aadhaar links a biometric ID to banking, phones and welfare; internet shutdowns during unrest are common.

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The privacy scorecard

State surveillance1/5
Facial recognition1/5
No national ID1/5
Data-protection law2/5
Encryption2/5
VPN freedom2/5
Democracy2/5
Free expression2/5
Cash still works5/5
Financial privacy2/5
Crypto freedom2/5
Easy to stay3/5
Off-grid living4/5
20 cameras / 1,000 people press rank #159 ~$700/mo national average

Childhood vaccines: recommended, never required

No national mandate. Some states and many private schools ask for the immunisation card at admission.

If you skip them: Nothing nationally.

Exemptions: Not needed.

Source: Georgetown AMP EID, survey of national legislation, 2024

Legal & financial exposure

Facts about the law, not a privacy score: whether each one helps or hurts depends on what you are trying to do.

Reports your account balances abroad (CRS)

Extradition treaty with the US

ID required to buy a SIM card

Crypto capital gains are taxed

Flat 30% tax on gains, with no deduction for losses.

3 of 7 signals are unverified for this country: not shown, rather than guessed.

102 real places in India

Facial recognition, Bitcoin friendliness and cost vary by city even inside the same country.

New Delhi

~$800/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Mumbai

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Kolkata

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Bengaluru

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Chennai

~$800/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Hyderabad (IN)

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Ahmedabad

~$850/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Surat

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Pune

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Jaipur (IN)

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Lucknow

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Kanpur

~$900/mo! facial recognition present₿ crypto 2/5

Weigh India against your own threat model

Surveillance, speech, money: filter thousands of real places across every country and see where India actually ranks.

Browse every place

Not just privacy?

Arcadia matches the same real places against how you actually want to live: weather, cost, healthcare, schools, internet.

Find where to live on Arcadia

Country-level estimates for orientation, not legal advice. Surveillance law changes fast: verify anything you would act on.