Skip to main content

What Is 'One Nation, One Time' Initiative, How It May Work

In order to ensure precision and uniformity in timekeeping across the country, the Indian government recently published a draft of new metrology rules for Indian Standard Time (IST) for public consultation. The draft, devised by the Department of Consumer Affairs, in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is part of a broader 'One India, One Time' initiative that intends to transition from GPS to India's regional navigation system for time synchronization, ensuring that the country has a self-reliant and secure timekeeping system.

Currently, IST is determined, down to the millisecond, using GPS satellites linked to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). However, reports suggest that the government is gearing towards the transition to using Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) for time dissemination.

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

How will 'One Nation, One Time' work?

Though the government is yet to provide the official procedure for time synchronization, multiple reports claim that atomic clocks will be used to maintain the accuracy of IST, which is currently set 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The NPL, located in New Delhi is currently primary source of IST, equipped with advanced atomic clocks that lose only a second over millions of years.

The NPL will provide reference time to four regional centers in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati via optical fibre, ensuring that the time is uniformly accurate across the country. Each centre will also have an atomic clock to create a robust network that supports precision timing.

Display and use of IST

The draft stated that all government offices and public institutions will be required to display IST on all time-keeping devices, ensuring synchronisation through reliable sources like Network Time Protocol (NTP) or Precision Time Protocol (PTP) or any other source.

Exceptions

Notably, the use of alternative timescales such as GMT will be permitted for specific purposes such as astronomy, navigation and scientific research, "subject to prior permission and compliance with government directives".

What's the current situation?

Despite its significance, not all telecom and internet service providers have adopted IST mandatorily, with many still relying on foreign time sources. Efforts are underway to align these systems with IST to enhance national security and operational efficiency.

After the deployment of atomic clocks, the time shown on digital watches, smartphones and laptops will be based on them instead of service providers accessing data from multiple sources linked to GPS.



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/iuAmtq7
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PM Modi To Reschedule 3-Nation Europe Visit As Tensions With Pakistan Soar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put his three-nation Europe visit on hold as tensions between India and Pakistan have surged in the wake of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed by Pak-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated terror attack. India responded on Wednesday with precision missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PM Modi, who is closely-monitoring the situation, has reportedly asked for his visit to Croatia, Norway, and the Netherlands, which was due next week, to be rescheduled. As per his original schedule Prime Minister Modi was to commence his official visit to the three nations on May 13. He was also going to participate in the India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 15 and 16. All three countries have been informed about the change in PM Modi's schedule. They have also been appraised about the current situation between India and Pakistan. Last month too, on the day of the Pahalga...
Post a Comment
Read more

After Nitish Kumar's 'Praise', BJP Says Doors Closed For Him

The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday said that its doors were "closed" for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the saffron party a year ago, stripping it of power in the state. State BJP President Samrat Choudhary made the averment to this effect in reply to queries from journalists about the Janata Dal United leader's address to the convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Central University at Motihari. Speaking in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu and Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Mr Kumar had freely spoken of the tussle he had with the then Congress government at the Centre for getting a university approved for Motihari, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Champaran Satyagraha. Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name, Mr Kumar acknowledged that the project saw the light of the day only after a change of guard "in 2014" as the UPA government "initially refused and after much persuasion agreed in principle but did not move for...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delhi Air On Brink Of Turning "Severe", Most Polluted In India

Delhi's air quality was on the brink of the 'severe' category on Sunday with an overall AQI reading of 382 - the worst recorded in the country for the day. Fifteen monitoring stations of the city recorded air quality levels in the 'severe' zone, having AQI readings over 400, data showed. The city also recorded its lowest nighttime temperature so far, as thick smog and haze shrouded it in a dense cover during the morning and evening hours. The minimum temperature recorded on Sunday was 16.5 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees above normal, according to the weather department. The national capital's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm every day, stood at 382, worsening from 316 the previous day. The locations where air pollution levels reached the 'severe' zone are Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, NSIT Dwarka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar, Okhla Phase 2, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, Wazirpur and Vivek Vihar...
Post a Comment
Read more