Govt drafts rules for mandatory adoption of IST

In a move to standardize time-keeping, the government has drafted comprehensive rules mandating the exclusive use of Indian Standard Time (IST) across all official and commercial platforms, with the Consumer Affairs Ministry seeking public feedback by February 14.

- PTI

The Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2024, aims to establish a legal framework for standardizing timekeeping practices, mandating IST as the sole time reference for legal, administrative, commercial, and official documents.

"IST shall be the mandatory time reference across all sectors, including commerce, transport, public administration, legal contracts, and financial operations," as per the draft rule.

Key provisions include, prohibition of time references other than IST for official and commercial purposes, mandatory display of IST in government offices and public institutions and requirement for time-synchronization systems to ensure reliability, availability, and cybersecurity.