The 25-year-old has been reinstated for the first time since he left last year's series in Australia after suffering back pain while bowling.
"Jimmy has put in a lot of work to make sure he is physically ready for a return to test cricket,” selector Gavin Larsen said in media release on Tuesday.
"Having two pace bowling all-rounders in Jimmy and Doug Bracewell helps the balance of the squad, particularly if playing on pitches which demand a spin-heavy bowling attack."
The 15-man squad has three changes from the side which recently toured Africa, with paceman Matt Henry and uncapped legspinner Jeet Raval omitted.
“Jeet Raval misses out on this tour, but we were really pleased with what we saw of him in Africa. He did everything asked of him and we’ll continue to monitor him closely," added Larsen.
The team departs for India on Sept. 11 and will play a three-day warm-up in New Delhi ahead of tests in Kanpur, Kolkata and Indore.
Squad:
Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee,
Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
