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.

New Delhi:

Indian government reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the people of Palestine with a recent shipment of 30 tonnes of medical supplies amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
This consignment includes essential medicines and anti-cancer drugs.

????????’s support to the people of Palestine continues.

Extending humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine, ???????? sends 30 tons of medical supplies comprising essential life-saving and anti-cancer drugs to Palestine. pic.twitter.com/gvHFnDhlGd

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 29, 2024

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhitr Jaiswal shared a post on X and stated, “India’s support to the people of Palestine continues. Extending humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine sends 30 tonnes of medical supplies comprising essential life-saving and anti-cancer drugs to Palestine.”

Last week, India sent its first tranche of assistance for the people of Palestine through UNRWA, which includes 30 tonnes of medicine and food items.

???????? sends humanitarian assistance for the people of Palestine through UNRWA.

The first tranche of assistance comprising 30 tons of medicine and food items has departed today.

The consignment includes a wide range of essential medicines and surgical supplies, dental products,… pic.twitter.com/ZlFiKOfezx

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 22, 2024

“India sends humanitarian assistance for the people of Palestine through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),” Mr Jaiswal said on X.

“The first tranche of assistance, comprising 30 tons of medicine and food items has departed today. The consignment includes a wide range of essential medicines and surgical supplies, dental products, general medical items and high-energy biscuits,” the post added.

Notably, India has long supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. PM Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the horrific terror attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 and repeatedly expressed concerns over the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

India also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza as part of its commitment. In July, India released the first installment of 2.5 million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for Palestine refugees for the year 2024-25.

Last month, UNRWA said people in Gaza are living in “inhumane” conditions.

The agency said on the social media platform X that piles of waste are accumulating in central Gaza, while sewage water is leaking into the streets.

“Families have no choice but to live next to this accumulated waste, exposing them to foul odours and the imminent risk of a health disaster,” the UNWRA added. The UN agency called for an immediate ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel’s parliament has passed a law banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a move branded “outrageous” by the humanitarian organisation, Al Jazeera reported.

The ban will significantly restrict UNRWA’s activities across occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The move comes as the 24-day Israeli siege of northern Gaza has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, destroying neighbourhoods and wiping out entire families.

The Indian government has stated that it won’t enforce licensing or similar constraints on laptop and computer imports. Instead, it is establishing a mechanism to track the volume and source of these imports.

A statement from Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was issued two weeks ago to address the misinformation about potential laptop import restrictions.

“On laptops, we are of the view that there are no restrictions as such. We are only saying that somebody who is importing these laptops has to be under close watch so that we can look at these imports. It is basically monitoring, which we are doing. It has nothing to do with restrictions as such,” Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

Also Read | Import Curbs On Laptops Deferred. Companies Need To Secure License By…

These remarks carry significance as the government had previously announced in August that products like laptops, tablets, and computers would require licensing, effective November 1.

Explaining further, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said there will be an import management system, which will come into place on November 1.

In August, the government imposed import restrictions on laptops, computers (including tablet computers), microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines with a view to boosting domestic manufacturing and cutting imports from countries like China. Following this notification, the IT hardware industry raised concerns.

India already has an import monitoring system for certain products like steel, coal, and paper. The licensing conditions on imports were put in place on the grounds of security and to spur domestic manufacturing of these products.

According to a report by think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India is critically dependent on China for day-to-day use and industrial products like mobile phones, laptops, components, solar cell modules, and integrated circuits.

The government has taken several steps to boost domestic manufacturing of electronic items, such as rolling out the production-linked incentive scheme and increasing customs duties on the number of electronic components.

India imports about $7-8 billion worth of these goods every year.

The country has imported personal computers, including laptops, worth $5.33 billion in 2022-23, as against $7.37 billion in 2021-22.

Imports of certain data processing machines stood at $553 million in the last fiscal year, as against $583.8 million in 2021-22.

Similarly, imports of microcomputers and processors stood at $1.2 million in the last fiscal year, compared to $2.08 million in 2021-22.

In May, the government approved the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware with a budgetary outlay of ₹ 17,000 crore.

(With inputs from PTI)

IDBI Bank is on the government’s list for privatisation. Image for representation
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna

The Budget for 2023-24 has not separately mentioned the amount that the government plans to raise from disinvestment or privatisation of state-owned companies.

Earlier, proceeds from disinvestment were shown separately as part of the miscellaneous receipts in the Capital Receipts Budget.

As per the 2023-24 Budget document, the revised estimate for miscellaneous capital receipts for the current fiscal has been pegged at ₹60,000 crore, lower than the ₹65,000 crore projected in Budget estimates for 2022-23.

For the next fiscal beginning April 1, the miscellaneous capital receipts have been pegged at ₹61,000 crore.

As per the DIPAM website, the government has so far mopped up over ₹31,100 crore by way of minority stake sale in CPSEs, as against the full-year Budget target of ₹65,000 crore.

For the next fiscal, companies like Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel Ltd, BEML, HLL Lifecare, Container Corporation of India and Vizag Steel, besides IDBI Bank, are in the government’s list for privatisation.

This fiscal (2022-23) is the fourth year in a row that the government has missed the budgeted disinvestment target.

See all 67 stories