Current Indian time
29-05-2025 11:18:28 AM
29-05-2025 11:18:28 AM
How to calculate current Indian time in PHP?
<!--?php date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Kolkata');
$currentTime = date( 'd-m-Y h:i:s A', time () );
echo $currentTime; ?-->
Current Indian time or India follows Indian Standard time [IST] also known as Indian time which is 5 hours 30 minutes forward to UTC [Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+5:30)]. IST does not utilize day light saving time and any adjustments in time , so all throughout year same time zone is used. This time zone applies for India and Sri Lanka. Until 1905, British India did not adopt any standard time zones. To keep single time zone for country the the meridian pass through east of Allahabad at 82.5 degrees east longitude was chosen as the central meridian for India, which came into force on January 1906, and the same time applied to Sri Lanka. India uses Calcutta time zone as it is considered as important hub for commercial purposes during British governance.
How time is calculated?
Time zone is based on the geographic zero line that passes through Greenwich in London, Hence it is named as Greenwich Mean Time [GMT] also called as UTC. This is maintained by France through Bureau of Weights and Measures. In India IST is maintained by Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) located in Delhi based on the longitude passes through Mirzapur near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh state for both commercial and official use. The time signals generated by them are based on atomic clocks in their laboratory which are synchronized with the clocks used worldwide that support the Universal Coordinated Time. Basically the time zone of a place is given by the longitude distance from other place. These longitude lines will not be a straight one , instead it is a bend one. Time calculated in this procedure is considered as the Legal time by the respective countries.
Current Indian time
The time difference between eastern and western countries in India is almost 2 hours. Over the years, questions have been raised to have two time zones for India because of the daylight variations in its longitudinal extreme places. A large time zone is shown to cost more and need change the time of events to make them compatible with the rest of the zone. Mainly in North east early sunset occurs, so they are demanding for different time zone for them. Many countries with large longitudinal difference use two time zones . As we all follow single time, the average time at which office starts is 09.30am which is appropriate for central India, but it is early for Western India [for states like Gujarat and Rajasthan] and too late for Eastern India including Andaman. As biological clock keeps its schedule properly, an efficient working manner may not occur. Following same time zone causes loss of daylight time for offices and educational institutions and consumption of electricity increases gradually.
Various political leaders have debated over this. Researchers from CSIR also submitted the research papers on the necessary of two time zone with one hour variation with current time. The researchers have estimated energy savings of Twenty million kWh per year based on a formula described in their article. Question over this is raised in parliament; the government replied that it has not come into any decision on it and also noted that commission framed in 2002 also didn’t recommend it due to the complexities involved. Though the government is not interested to provide two zone for country, Indian labor law have provisions to create two time zone for particular industrial area.
Problems in maintaining two time zone is airline and railways should publish time differently for the time zone changed areas. But it is possible and worked out in many countries.
