Bengaluru’s IST network demonstration feeds into new national time rules

A White Rabbit Technology-based network at Bengaluru’s Regional Reference Standard Laboratory demonstrated how Indian Standard Time can be distributed to systems used in banking, telecommunications, power, transport and digital governance.

The demonstration network was commissioned in July. It has also been used to demonstrate secure IST dissemination between the Bengaluru laboratory and the National Stock Exchange in Chennai, involving CSIR-NPL, ISRO, SEBI, NSE, BSNL and other stakeholders.

Under the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, notified on August 27, IST will become the common official time reference for legal, administrative, commercial and other purposes across India. The rules take effect 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

The transition period is intended to let government departments, companies and institutions review and modify existing systems. The framework allows use of NavIC, India’s satellite navigation system, and other approved domestic timing sources for time distribution. For Bengaluru organisations that run timestamp-dependent services, from financial transactions to telecom and power networks, the change means checking whether their systems can align with the new reference.