India Moves to ‘One Nation, One Time’: IST to Become Mandatory

In a landmark move toward digital sovereignty and national security, the Indian government is set to make the use of Indian Standard Time (IST) mandatory across all legal, commercial, digital, and administrative domains. The Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2025 will soon be notified, aiming to eliminate reliance on foreign time sources and promote secure, synchronized national timekeeping through atomic clocks and indigenous protocols.

Why in News?

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi announced that the Legal Metrology (IST) Rules, 2025 will soon be notified. This initiative will institutionalise IST as the only official legal time in India. Aims to prevent digital mismatches, cybercrime, and ensure national security by ending dependency on foreign time sources like GPS.

Aim and Objectives

• To ensure uniform timekeeping across all sectors using Indian Standard Time (IST).
• To reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities linked to foreign time sources.
• To enable accurate billing, secure transactions, and traceable timestamps in digital infrastructure.
• To enhance national time sovereignty and ensure fairness and transparency.

Key Features of the IST Mandate

The Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2025 will,

• Make IST the mandatory reference time across sectors.
• Prohibit the use of alternative time sources, unless explicitly authorized.
• Be applicable to transportation, telecom, financial markets, utilities, etc.

Time dissemination infrastructure.

• Five Regional Reference Standard Laboratories (RRSLs) in:
• Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Faridabad, and Guwahati
• Equipped with atomic clocks and secure synchronization systems.
• Uses Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP).
• Offers millisecond to microsecond level accuracy.

Coordinated by

• Department of Consumer Affairs
• CSIR-NPL (National Physical Laboratory)
• ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)

Strategic Significance

• Reduces digital mismatches and investigation delays.
• Counters spoofing and jamming vulnerabilities in foreign time systems.
• Secures power grids, railways, financial systems, and communication networks.
• Improves fairness in billing and trust in digital transactions.
• Aligns with the Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

Stakeholder Support

Round Table Conference held with 100+ stakeholders from,

• Telecom
• Banking
• Railways
• Utilities
• Secretary Nidhi Khare emphasized readiness of the infrastructure and the urgency of implementation.