NEW DELHI: The country may be on Indian Standard Time (IST), but the exact time is determined by GPS satellites, down to the millisecond, and is linked to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
In the next few months, this is set to change with Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) being the link to the National Physical Laboratory to provide the reference time. A lab in Faridabad will receive the time from NavIC which will be shared through an optic fibre link with four other centres – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati – each with an atomic clock.
The deployment of atomic clocks will ensure that the time shown on digital watches, smartphones and laptops is based on atomic clocks instead of service providers accessing data from multiple sources linked to GPS. Soon, the regional centres will disseminate the time to all end users, resulting in “one nation, one time.”
Is it ready to go live?
The satellite system was conceived soon after the Kargil war, when India could not get the exact location of targets from foreign satellites. Govt government realized that strategic importance and finally got moving on the project around seven years ago.Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said most of the work for the Times Dissemination Project has been completed with atomic clocks installed in Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. A few months ago, the NavIC link with NPL Faridabad was tested. The department, which is working with NPL and Isro to disseminate IST with millisecond to microsecond accuracy, will have to align the clocks in four centres with Faridabad to adjust for the time taken for sharing the data through the optic fibre cable.
What is an Atomic Clock?
An atomic clock is known for its exceptional accuracy. It functions by utilising specific resonance frequencies of atoms. The extreme precision levels of atomic clocks can be interpreted by the fact that they lose one second every 100 million years or so.
What are the benefits of the project?
Former consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said it will establish India’s precise and reliable time distribution network, reducing dependence on foreign systems and enhancing national security. “It will benefit critical sectors like power grids, telecommunications, banking, defence, and transportation by ensuring synchronised operations, efficiency, and resilience against cyber threats,” he said.
How will the transition happen?
While technical work is underway, the consumer affairs department has notified the draft rules, mandating IST as the sole time reference for legal, administrative, commercial, and official documents across the country.
Exceptions will be allowed for specialised fields such as astronomy, navigation, and scientific research, subject to prior government approval. Violations will attract penalties.