Necessity of ‘Two Time Zones: IST-I (UTC + 5 : 30 h) and IST-II (UTC + 6 : 30 h)’ in India and Its Implementation

Abstract

A strong demand of a separate time zone by northeast populace has been a matter of great debate for a very long period. However, no implementable solution to this genuine problem has yet been proposed. The CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, CSIR-NPL (the National Measurement Institute, NMI, of India and custodian of Indian Standard Time, IST) proposes an implementable solution that puts the country in two time zones: (i) IST-I (UTC + 5 : 30 h, represented by longitude passing through 82°33′E) covering the regions falling between longitude 68°7′E and 89°52′E and (ii) IST-II (UTC + 6 : 30 h, represented by longitude passing through 97°30′E) encompassing the regions between 89°52′E and 97°25′E. The proposed demarcation line between IST-I and IST-II, falling at longitude 89°52′E, is derived from analyses of synchronizing the circadian clocks to normal office hours (9 : 00 a.m. to 5 : 30 p.m.). This demarcation line passes through the border of West Bengal and Assam and has a narrow spatial extension, which makes it easier to implement from the railways point of view. Once approved, the implementation would require establishment of a laboratory for 'Primary Time Ensemble -II' generating IST-II in any of the north-eastern states, which would be equivalent to the existing 'Primary Time Ensemble-I' at CSIR-NPL, New Delhi.

Design and Development of a Cyber Security Framework for National Time Dissemination

“…National Meteorology Institute (NMI) transmits their clock data to BIPM and latter estimates the actual international time scale (TAI) on the basis of these data. For instance, in the United States, legitimate time is categorized into nine standard time zones together with DST [3].…”

“…TAI is a standardized and very balanced scale, however does not keep in pace with the asymmetrical rotation of the Earth. Consequently [3], for public and convenient uses, UTC comes to practice, which is similar with TAI, apart from time to time a leap seconds are included to make sure that, while averaged over a year, the sun traverses through the Greenwich meridian at midday UTC to within 0.9 s.…”

Photodermatosis and high UV index in Jorhat (north east India) due to single time zone: A study

“…This phenomenon gives rise to practical issues. Recently, a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research‐National Physics Laboratory (CSIR‐NPL) 9 was published in the journal Current Science, which supported the demand for dual time zones for these states and stated that it is feasible to have dual time zones. According to the study, having two time zones and two ISTs in India is technically feasible.…”