News: Government notified the Rules to make Indian Standard Time (IST) the single official time reference for legal, administrative, commercial and official purposes.

Key Features

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Implementation: Rules come into force 180 days after Gazette publication.
• Uniform Standard: IST → common reference for government, banking, telecom, digital and critical systems.
• Indigenous Timing: NavIC + Indian timing infrastructure → reduces dependence on foreign satellite timing.
• Technology: White Rabbit → enables high-precision time synchronisation.
• Institutions: CSIR-NPL, ISRO + Legal Metrology laboratories.

Significance

• Accurate time synchronisation → reliable banking/payments + stock markets + telecom + power grids + transport + emergency services.
• Strategic autonomy: Indigenous time dissemination → greater cybersecurity + reduced foreign dependence.