I respect your beliefs, however
 

Aircel was 6 weeks.

my bad....you are right....it used to be 6 months initially when airtel first started over 10 years ago....

I tried to find out validity of my vodaphone lifetime SIM, in absence of regular use. I did not get a satisfactory answer. The vendor where I re-charged the SIM told me the credit does not expire. I specifically asked him about non-use for an extended period of time. He insisted that whenever I go back to India, I would be able to use the same SIM. I am skeptic though. There has to be some time limit.
I considered sending a SIM every so often. But any use when roaming overseas incurs a monthly charge of Rs 99/. If it's one time charge for the month in which you use it, it's ok. But if it triggers a recurring monthly charge, the SIM would be useless pretty fast.

There are ways
 

If you can't join 'em.....
Have a local chum send a text every 3-4 weeks to the number.
That seems to help.
Also my latest victory with Vodaphone seems to be that I have not called and stopped the tin can marketing music and canned speeches that auto-call you every few days.
And to save confusion for all in the last few - Aircel and Airtel are significantly different services both in price and coverage.

The point that is being clarified in the lifetime SIM debate is that there are rules, then there is the implementation of those rules.
If all you get is "sorry" because your number was "liked" by a friend of the agent, then you lose your credit.
A learning - never top up too much at once, you can do it online with Vodaphone so - little and often is a good creed.
China is easier, just get loads of 14's in the number, but that's a different string, sorry......

Another post on here jogged my memory about my past experience trying to get an Indian SIM card for data use.

Last week, within an hour of requesting one from my hotel, I had a working Vodafone 3G USB device in my hands. Required copy of passport, a single passport photo, and about 5 signatures on the application.

Approx INR 4,000 for the device and 5GB of service. Can't complain.

I'm going to be looking for a prepaid voice/data SIM for my (unlocked) iPhone on my next trip to India. Is it best to take care of this at DEL airport or at my hotel? I'm staying at the Taj Mansingh and presumably acquiring SIM cards is well within their capabilities - I'm just wondering what the simplest option is.

either option would work....khan market is walking distance from your hotel....you can easily get a sim there yourself & be able to choose the plan you want....if i remember correctly there is a store called ahuja & sons on the front side of the market....they carry sim cards for all mobile operators & are pretty easy to deal with....

We're going to India in a few months and I want to use my iPhone, mainly for data. We'll be flying into Delhi, but then out to Varanasi without staying overnight in Delhi.

Will it be possible to get an airtel sim card at Delhi airport without a Delhi hotel address provided we have passport photos, etc.?

If not, is this something that our (private) tour operator can obtain for us in advance?

And the good news is that AT&T will now unlock any out-of-contract iPhones so that is one hassle not to have to deal with.

Will I be able buy Andhra Pradesh SIM card at Delhi airport or just Delhi local SIM?

Wirelessly posted (Samsung Galaxy S: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.6; en-us; SGH-T959V Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Delhi based SIM. However, you can roam free in most of NCR.

Wirelessly posted (Samsung Galaxy S: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.6; en-us; SGH-T959V Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

As you found out, obtaining SIM card for foreign passport holders without proof of local ID is a gamble. Some people insist vehemently that it's easy for any one.

Wirelessly posted (Samsung Galaxy S: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.6; en-us; SGH-T959V Build/GINGERBREAD) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

A note of caution: Not all phones, even unlocked ones work on 3G frequency in India. For example, an unlocked first generatipm iPhone will not work on 3G band in India.

Was just in Vizag - prepaid SIMs very difficult to obtain - you have to have local documentation, without which, they will not issue you a local SIM.

Local as local to Vizag or an Indian ID and proof of Indian address?
Beginning with post #20 of this thread, I had a discussion with someone who vehemently insisted that people who are better prepared have no problem getting a SIM. Of course it is B.S.
A vendor should be able to give you a SIM card if you have the required documentation- photocopies of Indian ID and proof of address, or a copy of your foreign passport and visa page and a proof of address, a letter from a hotel (not sure if this is required). Unless you are in a touristy area where vendors are used to doing this, you are out of luck even in big cities like Delhi. Most small vendors just don;t want to fool with people without a local (Indian) ID and some who do, don't submit documentation properly leading to rejection of your documentation and your service.

The same is true if you try to get a PAN card. For foreigners, one of the things that is asked is an attested copy of your passport and visa page by the embassy of your country in your home country.
:D

How many embassies )of its own) does a country have within its borders? Laws are made without thought and people flout them without compunction.

Anyone know which carrier offers a good prepaid voice/data plan in Kerala?