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BlogHow it works

CST to IST Converter

Set a date and a time in the US Central zone and read off the time in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad or Chennai. US daylight saving is taken into account; India never changes its clocks.

Central Time

CSTCentral Time

ISTIndia Standard Time

––:––

How do I convert CST to IST?

Add 11 h 30 min to a Central Standard Time, or 10 h 30 min to a Central Daylight Time. The result is often on the next calendar day in India.

CST
UTC−6 (Nov–Mar)
CDT
UTC−5 (Mar–Nov)
IST
UTC+5:30

Evening in Texas, morning in India

A large Indian community lives in the Central zone, around Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston and Chicago, and the most common question is when to call home. The answer is the US evening: 9:00 PM in Houston is 8:30 AM the next morning in India in winter and 7:30 AM in summer.

For work the window is narrower. An 8:00 AM meeting in Chicago is 7:30 PM in India during CST, already late for most offices. Many teams settle on 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM Central, or hand work over by email at the end of each day.

CST timeCST · ISTCDT · IST
12:00 AM11:30 AM10:30 AM
1:00 AM12:30 PM11:30 AM
2:00 AM1:30 PM12:30 PM
3:00 AM2:30 PM1:30 PM
4:00 AM3:30 PM2:30 PM
5:00 AM4:30 PM3:30 PM
6:00 AM5:30 PM4:30 PM
7:00 AM6:30 PM5:30 PM
8:00 AM7:30 PM6:30 PM
9:00 AM8:30 PM7:30 PM
10:00 AM9:30 PM8:30 PM
11:00 AM10:30 PM9:30 PM
12:00 PM11:30 PM10:30 PM
1:00 PM12:30 AM+1 next day11:30 PM
2:00 PM1:30 AM+1 next day12:30 AM+1 next day
3:00 PM2:30 AM+1 next day1:30 AM+1 next day
4:00 PM3:30 AM+1 next day2:30 AM+1 next day
5:00 PM4:30 AM+1 next day3:30 AM+1 next day
6:00 PM5:30 AM+1 next day4:30 AM+1 next day
7:00 PM6:30 AM+1 next day5:30 AM+1 next day
8:00 PM7:30 AM+1 next day6:30 AM+1 next day
9:00 PM8:30 AM+1 next day7:30 AM+1 next day
10:00 PM9:30 AM+1 next day8:30 AM+1 next day
11:00 PM10:30 AM+1 next day9:30 AM+1 next day
Central hours down the side with the India time for CST and CDT. +1 marks the next day in India.

When the 30-minute rule meets daylight saving

India keeps one zone, UTC+5:30, all year. The US Central zone moves forward one hour on the second Sunday in March and back one hour on the first Sunday in November, the rule overseen by the US Department of Transportation. The result is two gaps, each ending in a half hour:

  1. Dec 31, 2025 – Mar 8, 2026CST UTC−6 · IST UTC+5:30Difference: +11:30 h
  2. Mar 8, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026CDT UTC−5 · IST UTC+5:30Difference: +10:30 h
  3. Nov 1, 2026 – Mar 14, 2027CST UTC−6 · IST UTC+5:30Difference: +11:30 h
  4. Mar 14, 2027 – Nov 7, 2027CDT UTC−5 · IST UTC+5:30Difference: +10:30 h
  5. Nov 7, 2027 – Dec 31, 2027CST UTC−6 · IST UTC+5:30Difference: +11:30 h

Offsets in 2026 – 2027, from the IANA time zone data in your browser's engine

Mistakes that cost a day

Watch the date as well as the hour

Anything after about 12:30 PM CST (1:30 PM CDT) in Texas is already tomorrow in India.

  • A Friday evening in Chicago is Saturday morning in Delhi.
  • Payment or exam deadlines in India close the night before in US Central Time.
  • Writing CST in summer can make someone add an extra hour; CDT or CT is clearer.

See the live Delhi clock, or use the IST to CST converter to go the other way.

CST to IST questions

How many hours ahead of Texas is India?

11 hours 30 minutes in the US winter, when Texas is on CST, and 10 hours 30 minutes in the US summer, when it is on CDT.

What time is 7:00 PM in Dallas in India?

6:30 AM the next day during CST, or 5:30 AM the next day during CDT.

When is a good time to call family in India from Chicago?

Weekday evenings in Chicago, from about 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM, reach India the next morning between roughly 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM, depending on the season.

Is the US Central Time CST the same as China's CST?

No. This page is about US Central Standard Time (UTC−6). China Standard Time is UTC+8 and only 2 h 30 min behind India.

Does the Central to India gap ever change in India's favor?

No. India stays at UTC+5:30, so all the movement comes from US clock changes in March and November.