Figure 2 – India: Extent and Standard Meridian

nearly two hours between the easternmost and the westernmost parts of our country. Standard meridian is an imaginary line used for reckoning standard time. For the convenience of all, each country chooses its standard meridian in a multiple of 7°30'. India’s standard meridian passes through 82° 30'E.Time along this Standard Meridian of India passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country and known as IST with a time offset of UTC + 5:30.

There is a continuous demand from northeastern states to have separate time zone. Currently, the single time zone causes problems for them, especially in summers when daybreak comes as early as 4:30am around the summer solstice. A farmer in Assam can start work one hour before her or his counterpart in a state like Gujarat. Tea gardens in Assam have for years set their clocks an hour ahead of the rest of the country.