The Centre has notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, making Indian Standard Time (IST) the common time reference for legal, administrative, commercial and official purposes across the country.
The new rules will come into effect 180 days after their publication in the Official Gazette, providing stakeholders with time to upgrade and synchronise their systems.
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The move is aimed at ensuring accurate and uniform time synchronisation across critical sectors, including banking, digital payments, telecommunications, railways, airports, power systems and government records.
The rules also seek to encourage the use of Indian sources of precise timing, including the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), as part of efforts to strengthen India’s timekeeping infrastructure and reduce dependence on external time references.
