Rio de Janeiro · Updated 2026-10-20
India's first embassy in Latin America opened in Rio in 1948. Today the city's India links run through oil, BRICS and trade.
Rio de Janeiro was the seat of India's first embassy in Latin America and hosted the 2025 BRICS summit. Its business day starts as India's ends, eight and a half hours behind IST, every day of the year.
For Indian exporters of yarn, engineering goods and vehicles, for energy and IT firms and for travel teams with contacts in Rio de Janeiro: the city's India links, how one shipment update travels from your system to a +55 21 phone, Rio-only holidays, pt_BR templates and the Brazil rate in rupees.
See it work
A textured filament yarn consignment for a Rio de Janeiro distributor is running two days late. Follow the update down through each layer it crosses.
The update leaves when the data changes, not when someone in India remembers to send it. Your system calls the developer API, and the distributor in Rio has the new date at the start of their morning.
The reply is where the time gap bites. A Rio distributor's 10 a.m. question reaches India at 18:30 IST, so decide who in your team takes the evening threads in the shared team inbox.
PayloadETA update, order 7731
Enters at the top, travels down through 5 layers
Hop 5 of 5: the payload is in layer 5, Distributor in Rio, +55 21. Reads it at 10:00 local time and replies with a question, opening a 24-hour window for your team.
India's mission to Brazil began in Rio; its pages record a trade relationship that grew by a quarter in 2025.
India opened its first embassy in Latin America in Rio de Janeiro, then Brazil's capital, in 1948; it moved to Brasília in 1971.[1]
Prime Minister Modi visited Rio de Janeiro from 5 to 7 July 2025 for the 17th BRICS Summit.[1],[2]
India–Brazil trade grew by over 25% to US$ 15.21 billion in 2025, and reached US$ 8.774 billion in the first six months of 2026, up 36.95%.[1]
India sells Brazil diesel and other petroleum products, agro-chemicals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods and textured filament yarn; Brazil sells India crude oil, soybean oil, gold, raw sugar and cotton.[1]
Indian investment in Brazil is estimated at over US$ 15 billion; ONGC Videsh and BPRL have put US$ 3.5 billion into Brazil's upstream sector, with Petrobras as a partner in two offshore blocks.[1]
The Indian Ambassador met Petrobras president Magda Chambriard on 24 July 2025 to discuss partnerships with Indian companies.[2]
The US government's business travel guide for Brazil lists São Sebastião (20 January) and São Jorge (23 April) as holidays observed only in Rio de Janeiro.[3]
The trades the Embassy lists, and the first messages each sends to a Brazilian number.
Brazil sells India soybean oil, raw sugar and cotton, and Indian buyers follow each contract and cargo with their Brazilian suppliers.[1]
Textured filament yarn and engineering goods are on India's export list to Brazil. Indian drug makers there keep orders off WhatsApp, as Meta's policy bars drug sales.[1]
ONGC Videsh and BPRL work Brazil's upstream sector with Petrobras, whose president the Ambassador met in July 2025.[1],[2]
Bajaj, Mahindra Tractors, Royal Enfield, Hero, TVS and Tata Motors are on the Embassy's investor list.[1]
Brazil abolished daylight saving by decree in 2019, so Rio de Janeiro stays on UTC−3 and India stays eight and a half hours ahead all year. A Rio morning at 09:00 is 17:30 IST; Rio's 18:00 is 02:30 the next morning in India. Utility updates from your system can go at any hour, but replies need an evening owner on your side.
Rio keeps holidays the rest of Brazil does not. The US government's business travel guide for Brazil lists São Sebastião on 20 January and São Jorge on 23 April as holidays in Rio de Janeiro only, on top of national ones such as Carnival. A promotion timed for the national calendar can land on a city holiday in Rio.
Write Rio's templates in Portuguese (Brazil), code pt_BR, not the European pt_PT. The same guide notes that WhatsApp is the most common way Brazilians communicate by mobile phone, and that English proficiency is low, so an English-only template reaches fewer people than you expect.
Prices in ₹ and BRL
Brazilian numbers are billed at Brazil's line of Meta's rate card: ₹5.50 for marketing, ₹0.5981 for utility, ₹0.5981 for authentication and ₹0.5981 for a service reply, in rupees before GST.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ R$53.17 BRL
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ R$44.34 BRL
Everything a growing business needs to run WhatsApp properly.
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ R$159.62 BRL
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ R$133.01 BRL
Lite, plus the API, automation and team scale serious senders need.
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Rio de Janeiro · Brazil
| Category | ₹ INR | BRL |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹5.4970 | R$0.293 |
| Utility | ₹0.5981 | R$0.0318 |
| Authentication | ₹0.5981 | R$0.0318 |
| Service | ₹0.5981 | R$0.0318 |
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | R$0.289₹5.4352 | R$0.122₹2.2874 | R$0.122₹2.2874 | R$0.122₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | R$0.343₹6.4397 | R$0.0173₹0.3254 | R$0.0173₹0.3254 | R$0.0173₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | R$0.293₹5.4970 | R$0.0318₹0.5981 | R$0.0318₹0.5981 | R$0.0318₹0.5981 |
| Chile | R$0.416₹7.8162 | R$0.0936₹1.7585 | R$0.0936₹1.7585 | R$0.0936₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | R$0.0585₹1.0993 | R$0.0038₹0.0706 | R$0.0038₹0.0706 | R$0.0038₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | R$0.301₹5.6629 | R$0.0169₹0.3167 | R$0.0169₹0.3167 | R$0.0169₹0.3167 |
| France | R$0.402₹7.5588 | R$0.140₹2.6393 | R$0.140₹2.6393 | R$0.140₹2.6393 |
| Germany | R$0.639₹12.0088 | R$0.258₹4.8386 | R$0.258₹4.8386 | R$0.258₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | R$0.343₹6.4397 | R$0.122₹2.2867 | R$0.122₹2.2867 | R$0.122₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | R$0.402₹7.5596 | R$0.163₹3.0700 | R$0.163₹3.0700 | R$0.163₹3.0700 |
| India | R$0.0502₹0.9435 | R$0.0103₹0.1941 | R$0.0075₹0.1402 | R$0.0077₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | R$0.192₹3.6133 | R$0.117₹2.1979 | R$0.117₹2.1979 | R$0.117₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | R$0.160₹2.9992 | R$0.0370₹0.6943 | R$0.0370₹0.6943 | R$0.0370₹0.6943 |
| Israel | R$0.165₹3.1045 | R$0.0248₹0.4662 | R$0.0248₹0.4662 | R$0.0248₹0.4662 |
| Italy | R$0.372₹6.9847 | R$0.140₹2.6369 | R$0.140₹2.6369 | R$0.140₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | R$0.283₹5.3098 | R$0.0842₹1.5824 | R$0.0842₹1.5824 | R$0.0842₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | R$0.371₹6.9671 | R$0.206₹3.8671 | R$0.206₹3.8671 | R$0.206₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | R$0.403₹7.5644 | R$0.0655₹1.2314 | R$0.0655₹1.2314 | R$0.0655₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | R$0.186₹3.4877 | R$0.0398₹0.7471 | R$0.0398₹0.7471 | R$0.0398₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | R$0.194₹3.6425 | R$0.108₹2.0218 | R$0.108₹2.0218 | R$0.108₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | R$0.748₹14.0494 | R$0.234₹4.3987 | R$0.234₹4.3987 | R$0.234₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | R$0.343₹6.4397 | R$0.0159₹0.2990 | R$0.0159₹0.2990 | R$0.0159₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | R$0.242₹4.5421 | R$0.0314₹0.5898 | R$0.0314₹0.5898 | R$0.0314₹0.5898 |
| Oman | R$0.160₹2.9992 | R$0.116₹2.1709 | R$0.116₹2.1709 | R$0.116₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | R$0.222₹4.1620 | R$0.0703₹1.3200 | R$0.0703₹1.3200 | R$0.0703₹1.3200 |
| Peru | R$0.329₹6.1843 | R$0.140₹2.6392 | R$0.140₹2.6392 | R$0.140₹2.6392 |
| Poland | R$0.171₹3.2105 | R$0.0570₹1.0702 | R$0.0570₹1.0702 | R$0.0570₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | R$0.160₹2.9992 | R$0.0561₹1.0547 | R$0.0561₹1.0547 | R$0.0561₹1.0547 |
| Romania | R$0.402₹7.5596 | R$0.135₹2.5436 | R$0.135₹2.5436 | R$0.135₹2.5436 |
| Russia | R$0.375₹7.0520 | R$0.187₹3.5173 | R$0.187₹3.5173 | R$0.187₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | R$0.269₹5.0537 | R$0.0500₹0.9401 | R$0.0500₹0.9401 | R$0.0500₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | R$0.343₹6.4397 | R$0.0749₹1.4072 | R$0.0749₹1.4072 | R$0.0749₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | R$0.178₹3.3385 | R$0.0445₹0.8369 | R$0.0445₹0.8369 | R$0.0445₹0.8369 |
| Spain | R$0.331₹6.2161 | R$0.0936₹1.7578 | R$0.0936₹1.7578 | R$0.0936₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | R$0.343₹6.4397 | R$0.0094₹0.1759 | R$0.0094₹0.1759 | R$0.0094₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | R$0.0510₹0.9587 | R$0.0042₹0.0792 | R$0.0042₹0.0792 | R$0.0042₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | R$0.402₹7.5596 | R$0.139₹2.6138 | R$0.139₹2.6138 | R$0.139₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | R$0.269₹5.0537 | R$0.0735₹1.3811 | R$0.0735₹1.3811 | R$0.0735₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | R$0.297₹5.5795 | R$0.103₹1.9346 | R$0.103₹1.9346 | R$0.103₹1.9346 |
| North America | R$0.117₹2.1976 | R$0.0159₹0.2989 | R$0.0159₹0.2989 | R$0.0159₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | R$0.105₹1.9796 | R$0.0187₹0.3516 | R$0.0187₹0.3516 | R$0.0187₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | R$0.394₹7.4057 | R$0.0529₹0.9938 | R$0.0529₹0.9938 | R$0.0529₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | R$0.402₹7.5596 | R$0.0990₹1.8595 | R$0.0990₹1.8595 | R$0.0990₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | R$0.346₹6.5048 | R$0.0529₹0.9934 | R$0.0529₹0.9934 | R$0.0529₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | R$0.184₹3.4490 | R$0.0426₹0.7998 | R$0.0426₹0.7998 | R$0.0426₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | R$0.277₹5.2054 | R$0.0799₹1.5019 | R$0.0799₹1.5019 | R$0.0799₹1.5019 |
| Other | R$0.283₹5.3098 | R$0.0360₹0.6769 | R$0.0360₹0.6769 | R$0.0360₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. The ETA update in the stack above is one utility template, ₹0.5981. The converter shows amounts in reais for budgeting a Brazil programme; InfiQ invoices in rupees, with GST for Indian businesses.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
Most of the work is getting updates out on time and replies answered in the Indian evening.
Nearby
The nearest city guides on this site, in Brazil and across South America.
The LGPD, the SAC decree and the Brazil rate apply nationwide; the Brazil guide covers them in full.
Question: Our distributor in Rio de Janeiro writes at 10 a.m. their time. Is anyone in India still at work to answer?
Answer: It is 18:30 IST, so only if you plan for it. The distributor's message opens a 24-hour window, but a reply at 09:30 IST arrives at 01:00 in Rio. Keep two or three agents on the shared inbox until about 21:00 IST and the distributor gets an answer the same morning.
Question: Should we pause promotions to Rio de Janeiro on São Sebastião day, 20 January?
Answer: It is wise to. The US government's Brazil travel guide lists 20 January and 23 April as holidays observed only in Rio. Schedule marketing templates, ₹5.50 each to a Brazilian number, for a working day in Rio, and send them only to contacts who opted in.
Question: We ship textured filament yarn to a distributor in Rio de Janeiro. Is an ETA change a marketing or a utility message?
Answer: Utility. An update about an order the distributor has placed is a utility template, ₹0.5981 per delivered message to a Brazilian number. Brazil's data law asks you to have a legal basis for using the number; the Brazil guide explains consent and legitimate interest under the LGPD.
Question: Most of our Rio contacts prefer WhatsApp to email. Can we message them from our Indian business number?
Answer: Yes. Your InfiQ number can send approved templates to +55 numbers, and Meta charges by the recipient's country code, so the Brazil rate applies whatever number you send from. Write the templates in pt_BR and store numbers with +55 and the 21 area code.
Question: Our oilfield-services engineers in India support projects with Petrobras partners in Rio. Can they share one WhatsApp number?
Answer: Yes. The shared team inbox gives 10 users on Lite and 25 on Growth, with agent and manager roles, labels, transfers and private notes, so a site query can move from the coordinator to the engineer who knows the equipment.
Question: Our Brazilian subsidiary is registered in Rio de Janeiro. Can it be the InfiQ account holder?
Answer: InfiQ serves India-based businesses: it invoices in rupees with GST, keeps customer data in India and supports teams in English and Hindi on India time. The Indian parent can hold the account and message +55 numbers at the Brazil rate. If your business is based in Rio de Janeiro, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and send your first pt_BR templates once Meta business verification is complete. If your business is based in Rio de Janeiro, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
