What kind of hat to wear for business in India?

You don't need a hat. If you're traveling for business and are in the IT industry, you'll spend all your time in air-conditioned offices, hotels and taxis, and will spend very little time outside. As a rule, only the poor walk in India, and the campuses of Indian IT firms are generally in suburbs that are virtually unreachable by public transport anyway.

A baseball cap would be fine if you want to protect your head while sightseeing, but would (IMHO) be too casual for a business setting. Then again, I'd find a baseball cap and a collared dress shirt to be a rather odd combo anywhere.

With a UV index of nearly 14 you need to be extremely careful when outside during the day. Even on an overcast day, the UV index will be half of what it would be on clear day, so you could easily have a higher UV index in India on an overcast day than in Britain in the summer on a clear day. Also, the UV radiation can penetrate light clothing and irradiate your skin with an effective UV index that is high enough to cause a sunburn.

This means that the fabric the hat and all your other clothes are made of, is important. You should only use clothing that blocks most of the UV radiation, e.g. Coolibar UV Protective Clothing.

I've never been to India, but I'd suggest a Fedora. In the Western countries, it looks like the only socially acceptable "business hat" option, unless you want to look like Uncle Scrooge or Oliver Hardy.

If you are on a business trip, these should be your priorities:

1. Do NOT wear a hat in inside any premises if those are pertaining to your business.
2. Use an umbrella when out (That is going to help you more, and is socially acceptable as well)
3. Your requirements would also depend on the city you are planning to visit.

i suggest you to wear these following hats

1.Panama Hat

1. baseball-style cap

Panama Hat

Panama Hats are the best hats ever made. The incomparable material they are crafted from, toquilla straw, makes them light as a feather, fresh for a warm sunny day, and stylish with any attire. Worn by world leaders, Hollywood stars, singers and celebrities, Panama hats have become a symbol of elegance, luxury and sophistication. Genuine Panama Hats are manufactured exclusively in Ecuador. They acquired their name after being commercialized in Panama during the construction of the canal in the early 1900's.

Baseball cap

A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded crown and a stiff peak projecting in front that is why these are moslty used for hot days. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams namely baseball teams because these teams are playing in hot weather so, they want to save their face from sunlight.

i suggest you to think about these caps because these are best for india`s weather

While you'll probably be spending most of your time indoors and in air conditioned rooms, another thing to realise is that in India the sun is not as strong as it would be on a sunny day in the UK. Yes, it gets to 40+ degrees C but because of the pollution you will likely not get sunburned. (Even if you could stay out in that kind of heat long enough to get burned)

You can use a Baseball cap, but having an umbrella would be good. It will completely protect you from sunburn and sweating. And most companies have AC, you aren't supposed to be in the sun very long.