Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 Notified: Major Step Towards “One Nation, One Time”

The Government of India has notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, establishing Indian Standard Time (IST) as the common, legally recognized and traceable time reference for the country under the initiative of 'One Nation, One Time'. Notified by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the rules provide a framework for generating, maintaining, disseminating, and using IST. The CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) serves as the scientific foundation, maintaining the national atomic time scale. Secondary time scales have been established at five Regional Reference Standard Laboratories, and satellite-based dissemination is supported via ISRO's NavIC system, building a resilient national timing and cybersecurity infrastructure.