.IN Domain Names
What is a .IN domain?
The .IN domain is a ccTLD (country code top level domain), and the Internet country code for India. Located in Southern Asia, India borders the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. India spans 1,269,346 square miles, an area equivalent to about one third of the United States. According to the July 2008 census, the population was at 1,147,995,904 people. Hindi is the national language and primary tongue for 41% of the population, although English is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication. Aside from Hindi, there are an additional 14 official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit.
Why should I register a .IN domain name?
Traditionally the .IN domain was not very popular with Indians, as they preferred gTLDs such as .COM. However, the liberalization of registration rules in 2005 led to a drastic increase in .IN registrations. The .IN domain is now one of the fastest growing ccTLDs available.
The .IN domain name presents a great opportunity for local and international companies wanting to represent their business in India. Local domain names give your company a professional image, which demonstrates proof of your commitment to local customers. By targeting the local Indian market, you can maximize your company's revenues.
Aside from being used by those with a local presence, the .IN domain has become popular among Internet companies, who use the ccTLD as an abbreviation for 'internet'.
Protecting yourself and your identity is all too important in today's world. The same standards apply to protecting your business and personal identity online. Protecting your brand is an important reason to register ccTLDs. Being the initial purchaser of your brand in a TLD is a much wiser idea than attempting to acquire names after someone else has registered them.
Additionally, it is much easier to purchase a common word or short domain name in a ccTLD than in the more popular and heavily populated TLDs like .COM. Country code TLDs also present the opportunity to register domain hacks such as conta.IN, pumpk.IN, or zeppel.IN.
Are there any restrictions for registering a .IN?
There are no restrictions for registering a top level .IN domain. Registration for these domain names is open to anyone, similar to .COM, .NET, or .ORG.
name.com offers the following .IN extensions:
.IN extension
co.IN
firm.IN
net.IN
org.IN
gen.IN
ind.IN
intended use
banks, trademarks, registered companies
shops, partnerships, liaison offices, sole proprietorships
Internet service providers
non-profit organizations
general / miscellaneous use
individuals