Rahul Somvanshi
India follows one time zone for the entire nation. But the exact time is determined by GPS satellites down to the milliseconds. It is linked to Coordinated Universal Time. However, this scenario will change in the next few months.
Now India is set with Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). It is linked to the National Physical Laboratory to provide the reference time. The IST (Indian Standard Time) will be determined by an atomic clock. Atomic clocks will ensure the accuracy of time and not service providers. This will be made possible by a lab in Faridabad which in turn will receive the time from NavIC.
NavIC is to share this information through an optic fiber link with four other centers – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati. Soon, the regional centers will disseminate the time to all end users – resulting in “One time, one nation.”
According to Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, the satellite system was conceived soon after the Kargil war, when India could not get the exact locations of targets from foreign satellites. Government realized its strategic importance and finally got moving on the project around seven years ago.
Most of the work for the Time Dissemination Project has been completed. Atomic clocks have been installed in Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar. It may be noted that an atomic clock is a clock known for its exceptional accuracy. It functions by utilizing specific resonance frequencies of atoms. The fact that only one second will be lost every million years shows the extreme precision levels of the atomic clocks.
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The TDP (Time Dissemination Project) will establish India’s own precise and reliable time distribution network. Thus, it reduces dependence on foreign systems and enhances national security. Rohit Kumar Singh, former consumer affairs secretary, says, “It will benefit critical sectors like power grids, telecommunications, banking, defence, and transportation by ensuring synchronized operations, efficiency, and resilience against cyber threats.”
The consumer affairs department has notified the draft rules. It mandates the use of IST as the sole time reference for legal, administrative, commercial, and official documents across the country.
The IST will be determined down to the milliseconds by linking to Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), instead of GPS satellites linked to UTC. This is self-dependence in timekeeping. The atomic clocks in four centers – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati will be linked to the lab in Faridabad which will disseminate time to end users. Thus, one more milestone will be crossed in our progress toward self-reliance in 2025.
