Current Time in Delhi
The clock shows the time in Delhi to the second. All of India runs on India Standard Time (IST), five and a half hours ahead of UTC, with no clock changes.
Current time in Delhi
- IANA zone
- Current time in Delhi
UTC+5:30
India Standard Time, used in Delhi and across the whole country all year
No daylight saving time; the IANA time zone database lists one offset for Asia/Kolkata since 1945.
India Standard Time
India uses a single time zone even though the country spans about 30 degrees of longitude. The reference meridian at 82.5° east was chosen because it sits near the middle, and the half hour falls out of the arithmetic: 82.5 divided by 15 degrees per hour is 5.5.
The CSIR-National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi keeps the country's official time with atomic clocks and distributes it to networks and broadcasters.
- IANA zone
- Asia/Kolkata
- Standard time
- IST · UTC+5:30
- Daylight saving time
- Not observed
Delhi's gap to the rest of the world
| City | In January | In July |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | −15:30 | −15:30 |
| Anchorage | −14:30 | −13:30 |
| Seattle | −13:30 | −12:30 |
| Denver | −12:30 | −11:30 |
| Vancouver | −12:30 | −12:30 |
| Houston | −11:30 | −10:30 |
| Lima | −10:30 | −10:30 |
| Toronto | −10:30 | −9:30 |
| Washington, D.C. | −10:30 | −9:30 |
| Buenos Aires | −8:30 | −8:30 |
| São Paulo | −8:30 | −8:30 |
| London | −5:30 | −4:30 |
| Amsterdam | −4:30 | −3:30 |
| Berlin | −4:30 | −3:30 |
| Madrid | −4:30 | −3:30 |
| Paris | −4:30 | −3:30 |
| Zurich | −4:30 | −3:30 |
| Athens | −3:30 | −2:30 |
| Cairo | −3:30 | −2:30 |
| Johannesburg | −3:30 | −3:30 |
| Doha | −2:30 | −2:30 |
| Nairobi | −2:30 | −2:30 |
| Riyadh | −2:30 | −2:30 |
| Dubai | −1:30 | −1:30 |
| Dhaka | +0:30 | +0:30 |
| Ho Chi Minh City | +1:30 | +1:30 |
| Kuala Lumpur | +2:30 | +2:30 |
| Manila | +2:30 | +2:30 |
| Perth | +2:30 | +2:30 |
| Shanghai | +2:30 | +2:30 |
| Taipei | +2:30 | +2:30 |
| Seoul | +3:30 | +3:30 |
| Brisbane | +4:30 | +4:30 |
| Melbourne | +5:30 | +4:30 |
| Sydney | +5:30 | +4:30 |
Hours to add to the time in Delhi; a minus sign means the other city is behind
Because India never changes its clocks, the gap to Delhi moves only when the other city does. London is five and a half hours behind in January and four and a half in July; New York ten and a half and nine and a half. Sydney is five and a half hours ahead in January, during the Australian summer, and four and a half in July.
For the most common working pair, the IST to EST converter lists every hour; for Singapore the IST to SGT converter shows the steady two-and-a-half-hour step.
Business between India and the West usually happens at the edges of the day. A 7:00 PM call in Delhi reaches London at 1:30 PM in winter and 2:30 PM in summer, and New York at 8:30 AM or 9:30 AM.
The two IST abbreviations
IST also stands for Irish Standard Time (Ireland's summer time, UTC+1) and Israel Standard Time (UTC+2). In international invitations, write "India time" or "UTC+5:30" to avoid a mix-up.
Delhi time questions
Why is India's time zone UTC+5:30 and not a whole hour?
IST is based on the 82.5° east meridian, which runs near Mirzapur close to the middle of the country. That line is exactly five and a half hours of sun time from Greenwich.
Does India use daylight saving time?
No. India has one offset all year and last shifted its clocks during the Second World War.
Is Mumbai on the same time as Delhi?
Yes. Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and every other Indian city share IST.
How many hours ahead of London is Delhi?
Five and a half hours in winter and four and a half when the UK is on BST.
What time is it in Delhi when it is 9:00 AM in New York?
7:30 PM during US standard time and 6:30 PM during US daylight time.