On his first official visit to India on 30-31 October, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with senior government officials including the President of India Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

He delivered the ninth Rajiv Gandhi Memorial lecture entitled "India and the UN: An Indispensable Partnership" organized by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) New Delhi and chaired by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.

At an event hosted by Nobel Laureate Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Mr. Ban addressed corporate business leaders of the World Business Council on the importance of creative strategies to fight climate change and promote sustainable development. The Secretary-General, accompanied by Mrs. Ban, also visited Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi.

To mark United Nations Day 2008, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in New Delhi organized a light and sound show entitled "Badalta Mausam" (Changing Climate) by installation artist Naresh Kapuria, who transformed the UN House into his canvas with laser beams, paintings, sculptures, earthen pots, bells and kettles to convey the message of the vagaries of climate change. Diplomats, government officials, civil society partners and media attended the opening on 24 October. On 25 October, the show was opened to the public and over 1000 visitors viewed the show at UN House.

As part of the global campaign to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) New Delhi joined hands with the non-governmental organization BROTHERHOOD in organizing the sixth annual "We Care Film Fest" on disability issues. The purpose of the film festival is to create awareness about disability issues as well as to remove some of the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding the disabled and disabilities through the use of film. Short films and documentaries submitted to the festival will be screened in various locations throughout India from Februrary - April 2009 and the festival will culminate on 3 May 2009 with an awards ceremony.

On 21 August, UNIC Director Shalini Dewan opened the 2009 festival by launching the festival's website. She also distributed DVDs containing award-winning films from last year's festival and presented awards to the winners.

To mark the 60th anniversary of UN peacekeeping, the Centre for UN Peacekeeping and the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in New Delhi organized a cultural event at the Indian Army’s Camp in Khanpur on 29 May 2008, the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. The UNIC Director was the guest of honour at the event which was attended by over 500 former and future UN peacekeepers.