North-eastern states, Andaman could soon get a new time zone

THE SUN RISES AND SETS EARLIER IN THE NORTHEASTERN STATES THAN THE REST, WHICH CAUSES LOSS OF MANY DAYLIGHT HOURS

MUMBAI: It’s feasible for India to have two time zones, a move that will increase productivity in six north-eastern states barring Assam, according to a scientific study by the country’s official timekeeper.

The Indian Standard Time (IST) applicable across the country is 5.30 hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time (UCT, 0.00), which is based on the imaginary longitude line that runs through Greenwich in the UK. The scientific paper by scientists from the Delhi-based Csirnational Physical Laboratory (NPL) examines the feasibility of implementing a second time zone for the north-eastern states that will be 6.30 hours ahead UCT to save daylight hours. This means clocks in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will run one hour ahead of clocks in the rest of India.

The sun rises and sets earlier in north-eastern states than the rest of India, which causes loss of many daylight hours. The problem worsens in winter when days get shorter, leading to lost productivity and higher electricity consumption. The study estimated if two time zones are implemented, the annual electricity saving will be 20 million kwh.

CONTINUED ON P 12