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.

Thousands of flights in the UK have been hit by “extremely dangerous” jamming, suspected to have been carried out by Russia, according to a report in The Sun. The electronic attacks have impacted satellite navigation (satnav) leaving aircraft routes difficult to navigate. Pilots too struggle to tell the colleagues where in the air they are, the outlet further said. Sometimes the situation becomes so bizarre that planes had to swerve and dive to avoid “obstacles” that were really not there.

The Sun said that till the end of March, 2,309 Ryanair flights and 1,368 Wizz Air planes logged satnav problems in the Baltic region.

British Airways, Jet2 and EasyJet flights were also hit.

Jamming interrupts the satellite signals, including GPS, from reaching the aircraft and tricks the pilots into thinking they are somewhere they are not.

“We have seen a sharp rise in attacks on these systems, which poses a safety risk,” Luc Tytgat, boss of EASA, told The Sun.

The outlet claimed that suspected Russian attacks have increased from fewer than 50 a week last year to more than 350 a week last month.

Ryanair said: “If any location systems, such as GPS, are not functioning then the crew switch to alternate systems.”

EasyJet said it had procedures to mitigate against GPS issues.

However, Glenn Bradley, from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said that flying is still the safest forms of travel.

“GPS jamming does not directly impact the navigation of an aircraft and while it’s a known issue, this does not mean an aircraft has been jammed deliberately,” he said in a statement.

“While operators have mitigations in place to assure continued safe operations, we work closely with other aviation regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers to curb and mitigate any risks posed by jamming and continuously monitor incidents worldwide,” the statement further said.

Last month, Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an aircraft used by British defence minister Grant Shapps to travel from Poland back to Britain.

Quoting a government source and journalists, news agency Reuters reported that the GPS signal was interfered with for about 30 minutes while the plane flew close to Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.