{"id":"in-andaman-nicobar","country":"in","kind":"ut","name":{"en":"Andaman & Nicobar Islands","local":"अंडमान और निकोबार द्वीपसमूह"},"languages":["hi","bn","ta","te","en"],"currency":"INR","symbol":"₹","fxPerUsd":94,"cities":{"T1":"Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair)","T2":"Swaraj Dweep (Havelock)","T3":"Diglipur"},"basket":{"teaCup":15,"simpleMeal":120,"haircutMen":120,"milkLitre":70,"breadLoaf":50,"unskilledDayWage":700,"minWageMonthly":17160,"shopRentSqftMonth":{"T1":90,"T2":80,"T3":25},"electricityCommercialKwh":10,"lpgCommercialCylinder":3300,"petrolLitre":89},"tax":{"salesTax":"GST 5/18% (national)","smallBizThreshold":"₹40 lakh goods / ₹20 lakh services (national)","localLevies":"No professional tax (Est.); municipal trade licence in Sri Vijaya Puram; tribal-reserve and forest restrictions"},"licences":[{"name":"Shop & Establishment registration (A&N Shops & Establishments Regulation)","fee":"Nominal (not retrieved)","authority":"Labour Department, A&N Administration","source":"Est.: fee not found"},{"name":"Trade licence (Port Blair Municipal Council / panchayat)","fee":"By trade (not retrieved)","authority":"PBMC / PRI","source":"Est.: fee not found"},{"name":"Tourism trade / homestay registration","fee":"Required for guesthouses, tour operators, water sports (fee not retrieved)","authority":"Directorate of Tourism","source":"Est."}],"festivals":[{"name":"Deepavali","dates2026_27":"about 8 Nov 2026","effect":"Sweets, clothes; supply must be shipped in weeks ahead"},{"name":"Christmas / New Year","dates2026_27":"25 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027","effect":"Peak tourist arrivals; Havelock/Neil hotels and eateries full"},{"name":"Island Tourism Festival","dates2026_27":"about Jan 2027","effect":"10-day fair at Sri Vijaya Puram; food stalls, crafts"},{"name":"Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti / Parakram Diwas","dates2026_27":"23 Jan 2027","effect":"Netaji-linked events; Ross (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) Island visitors"},{"name":"Eid al-Fitr","dates2026_27":"about 10 Mar 2027","effect":"Local Muslim community demand"},{"name":"Durga Puja","dates2026_27":"about 4–8 Oct 2027","effect":"Large Bengali settler population; pandals, sweets, clothes"}],"seasons":[{"months":"Oct–May","what":"Tourist season; calm seas, ferries and flights full; Dec–Jan peak"},{"months":"May–Sep","what":"South-west monsoon: rough seas cancel inter-island ferries and cargo; tourist trade −50–70%"},{"months":"Oct–Dec","what":"Cyclone risk in the Bay of Bengal; ship cancellations"}],"payments":{"digitalShare":"about 50–70% UPI in Sri Vijaya Puram; patchy connectivity in outer islands keeps cash dominant (Est.)","credit":"udhaar common among settlers; tourists pay UPI/card"},"notes":"Everything is shipped from Chennai, Kolkata or Visakhapatnam, so landed costs for stock, milk, LPG and building materials are higher than the mainland, and sailings decide what is on shelves; outer islands have run out of onions, eggs and milk when ships were missed. Yet fuel VAT is very low (diesel about ₹84.56/L), and wage floors are high (₹652–660/day unskilled, revised every six months), so labour costs more than on the mainland. Demand is a mix of a government-employee base and tourism concentrated in Oct–May, especially Havelock and Neil. Power is diesel-generated at ₹22–28/unit and heavily subsidised. Monsoon sea closures, cyclones and earthquakes are the place-specific risks.","factors":[{"id":"P01","cat":"Wages","name":"Minimum wage, unskilled (all schedules incl. shops/hotels)","value":"₹660/day from 1 Jul 2026 (₹652 from 1 Jan 2026)","role":"HV","source":"https://nicobartimes.com/?p=29404","estimate":false},{"id":"P02","cat":"Wages","name":"Minimum wage, other skill levels (Jan 2026)","value":"Semi-skilled ₹733 (₹741 from Jul), skilled/clerical ₹856, highly skilled ₹939 per day","role":"HV","source":"https://andamansheekha.com/149430/","estimate":false},{"id":"P03","cat":"Wages","name":"Monthly equivalent used in basket","value":"₹17,160 (₹660 × 26)","role":"HV","source":"Est.: computed from P01","estimate":true},{"id":"P04","cat":"Wages","name":"VDA revision cadence","value":"Every 1 Jan and 1 Jul under the Code on Wages","role":"HV","source":"https://nicobartimes.com/?p=29404","estimate":false},{"id":"P05","cat":"Wages","name":"Casual day wage (market)","value":"₹700/day; tourism-season labour scarce","role":"HV","source":"Est.: legal floor ₹660 plus premium","estimate":true},{"id":"P06","cat":"Wages","name":"Mainland migrant staff","value":"Shops/hotels hire from Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala; travel and lodging add ~₹2k–4k/month per worker","role":"PD","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P07","cat":"Rent","name":"Shop rent T1 Sri Vijaya Puram (Aberdeen Bazaar)","value":"₹90/sq ft/month","role":"HV","source":"Est.: scarce commercial space in a ~1.5 lakh town","estimate":true},{"id":"P08","cat":"Rent","name":"Shop rent T2 Swaraj Dweep (Havelock)","value":"₹80/sq ft/month (tourism premium)","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P09","cat":"Rent","name":"Shop rent T3 Diglipur / Rangat","value":"₹25/sq ft/month","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P10","cat":"Energy","name":"Commercial electricity","value":"≈₹10/kWh effective (FY24: ₹9.25 for 0–200 units, ₹16.50 above 1,000; revised order from 1 Nov 2025 not retrieved)","role":"HV","source":"Est. from https://nicobartimes.com/?p=9484 (FY24 existing commercial slabs) and https://nicobartimes.com/?p=24213 (new order 1 Nov 2025)","estimate":true},{"id":"P11","cat":"Energy","name":"True generation cost","value":"₹22–28 per unit (diesel-based); tariff heavily subsidised","role":"HV","source":"https://nicobartimes.com/?p=20922","estimate":false},{"id":"P12","cat":"Energy","name":"Diesel, Sri Vijaya Puram","value":"₹84.56/L (7–16 Oct 2026)","role":"HV","source":"https://www.aajtak.in/fuel-price/diesel-price-in-port-blair-today","estimate":false},{"id":"P13","cat":"Energy","name":"Petrol","value":"≈₹89/L (lowest VAT in India)","role":"HV","source":"Est.: diesel ₹84.56 + historical petrol–diesel gap (~₹4–5)","estimate":true},{"id":"P14","cat":"Energy","name":"Commercial LPG 19 kg","value":"≈₹3,300","role":"HV","source":"Est.: Kolkata ₹2,954 / Chennai ₹2,983 + shipping (~10–12%)","estimate":true},{"id":"P15","cat":"Energy","name":"Power cuts","value":"Scheduled/unscheduled outages common, especially outer islands; gensets needed for cold storage","role":"RE","source":"Est.: diesel-grid fragility","estimate":true},{"id":"P16","cat":"Supply","name":"Shipping-dependent stock","value":"Outer islands wait 30–45 days for cargo; markets ran out of onions, eggs, tetra milk (Great Nicobar, 2023)","role":"RE","source":"https://nicobartimes.com/?p=5398","estimate":false},{"id":"P17","cat":"Supply","name":"Transhipment cost","value":"Indirect cargo routing adds ~₹250 per package (Katchal via Kamorta, 2023)","role":"HV","source":"https://nicobartimes.com/?p=5398","estimate":false},{"id":"P18","cat":"Supply","name":"Landed-cost uplift on mainland goods","value":"+10–25% vs Chennai/Kolkata wholesale","role":"HV","source":"Est.: freight + handling + spoilage","estimate":true},{"id":"P19","cat":"Licences","name":"S&E and trade licence","value":"Nominal fees; PBMC licence in the capital","role":"PD","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P20","cat":"Licences","name":"Restricted areas","value":"Tribal reserves (Jarawa, Nicobar) and restricted islands bar non-locals from trading; land purchase limited for outsiders","role":"HV","source":"Est.: ANPATR regulation","estimate":true},{"id":"P21","cat":"Tax","name":"Professional tax","value":"None levied (Est.)","role":"HV","source":"Est.: no A&N PT act known","estimate":true},{"id":"P22","cat":"Tax","name":"GST and FSSAI","value":"National rules unchanged","role":"HV","source":"https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/advisories/2026/03/69c6a23234827order_27032026.pdf","estimate":false},{"id":"P23","cat":"Festivals","name":"Tourist season","value":"Oct–May; Dec–Jan peak; Havelock eatery demand 2–3× vs monsoon","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P24","cat":"Festivals","name":"Island Tourism Festival","value":"About Jan 2027, ~10 days","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P25","cat":"Festivals","name":"Durga Puja / Deepavali","value":"Bengali settler festival Oct; Deepavali ~8 Nov 2026","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P26","cat":"Climate","name":"Monsoon sea closure","value":"May–Sep; inter-island ferries cancelled on rough days; tourist trade −50–70%","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P27","cat":"Climate","name":"Cyclone","value":"Oct–Dec and May; ships/flights cancelled 2–5 days","role":"RE","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P28","cat":"Climate","name":"Earthquake / tsunami","value":"High seismic zone (2004 tsunami); rare but catastrophic","role":"RE","source":"Est.: very low annual probability","estimate":true},{"id":"P29","cat":"Prices","name":"Packet / UHT milk","value":"≈₹70/L (limited local dairy; UHT shipped)","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P30","cat":"Prices","name":"Tea, T2","value":"₹15","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P31","cat":"Prices","name":"Simple meal (fish thali), T2","value":"₹120 (tourist restaurants ₹250+)","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P32","cat":"Prices","name":"Men's haircut","value":"₹120","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P33","cat":"Market","name":"Per-capita income","value":"PPP ≈$16,066 (2025-26), ~16th nationally","role":"HV","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_states_and_union_territories_by_GDP_(PPP)","estimate":false},{"id":"P34","cat":"Market","name":"Population and urbanisation","value":"~4 lakh people; ~38% urban, concentrated in Sri Vijaya Puram (Census 2011)","role":"HV","source":"Est.: Census 2011 (old)","estimate":true},{"id":"P35","cat":"Market","name":"Government-salary demand base","value":"Large share of households on government/defence pay; steady month-start demand","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P36","cat":"Payments","name":"Digital share","value":"Capital 50–70% UPI; outer islands cash-heavy due to network gaps","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P37","cat":"Language","name":"Languages","value":"Hindi lingua franca; Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam settler communities","role":"HV","source":"Est.","estimate":true},{"id":"P38","cat":"Risk","name":"Ferry or dinghy ban","value":"Administrative bans on small cargo boats have caused fuel/essentials shortages on Havelock","role":"RE","source":"https://andamansheekha.com/35458/","estimate":false},{"id":"P39","cat":"Market","name":"FX used for USD conversion","value":"₹94 per USD (Est.)","role":"HV","source":"Est.: https://thewire.in/economy/in-wake-of-depreciating-rupee-foreign-remittances-to-kerala-remain-unaffected-despite-west-asia-crisis","estimate":true}]}