New rules will synchronise use of IST for legal, commercial activities, says Pralhad Joshi
The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry said here on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) that the proposed Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules will mandate synchronisation of all legal, administrative and commercial operations with IST, making India's timekeeping infrastructure legally enforceable, digitally secure and globally bench-marked.
Briefing reporters after a 'Round Table Conference on Time Dissemination', Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said it is strategically significant to synchronise all legal, commercial and administrative activities with the IST so that the use of alternative time references, unless explicitly authorised, could be prohibited.
He said precise and uniform dissemination of IST across sectors such as financial markets, power grids, telecommunications, transportation and others are essential to ensure fairness, accuracy and national security. 'The initiative aims to deliver IST with millisecond to microsecond accuracy through five Regional Reference Standard Laboratories (RRSLs) equipped with atomic clocks and secure synchronisation protocols like NTP (Network Time Protocol) and PTP (Precision Time Protocol), ushering in a new era of digital and administrative efficiency under the vision of 'One Nation, One Time',' Mr. Joshi said.
Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Ministry, said there was an urgent need for accurate, secure and legally mandated dissemination of IST to ensure uniformity across strategic and non-strategic sectors. She said under the Time Dissemination Project, the Ministry in collaboration with the Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research – National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is establishing advanced infrastructure comprising five RRSLs in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Faridabad, and Guwahati.
She said the current reliance on foreign time sources poses risks such as cybersecurity vulnerabilities like spoofing and jamming. She added that the implementation of the new rules would be a crucial step toward ensuring traceability, enhancing operational reliability, and fostering national time sovereignty. 'The initiative, is a major step in building a trusted and standardised digital ecosystem across the country,' she added.
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