On 7-9 December 2017, Andrew Davison, ICTV President, attended the 26th National Conference of the Indian Virological Society (IVS) at the kind invitation of the IVS President, Prof Anupam Varma. The conference was entitled VIROCON 2017, “Viruses to Viromes in Health and Disease”, and was organised by an efficient team at Nitte University, Mangaluru. The commitment of the participants to tackling the major virological challenges that India faces was obvious throughout the programme. The presentations were impressive in their broad coverage of plant, animal and medical viruses, and included a range of international and national keynote addresses and a substantial session devoted to young researchers. Dr. Davison's enjoyment of the conference was enhanced by the warmth and engagement of the participants, and particularly by meeting the ICTV national member and several ICTV study group members. Next year’s IVS conference will be held in Chandigarh towards the end of 2018 – keep an eye on the Indian Virological Society web site for details.