Current time in India
16:30:00GMT+5:30
Thursday 1 October 2026
India is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK right now.
In the UK it is 12:00 BST. Your device: 12:00 (Same as UK).
India time zone
All of India uses Indian Standard Time (IST), which is UTC+5:30. There is one zone for the whole country, from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, and the clocks never change. In the IANA time zone database it is Asia/Kolkata.
The half hour comes from geography. IST is set on the 82.5°E meridian, which runs close to Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The Earth turns 15° an hour, and 82.5 ÷ 15 = 5.5, so IST is five and a half hours ahead of UTC. The official time signal is kept by the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi.
Time difference between the UK and India
Because India has no daylight saving time, the gap changes only when the UK changes its clocks: at 1am GMT on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
| Period | UK on | India is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan to 28 Mar 2026 | GMT | 5 h 30 min ahead |
| 29 Mar to 24 Oct 2026 | BST | 4 h 30 min ahead |
| 25 Oct 2026 to 27 Mar 2027 | GMT | 5 h 30 min ahead |
| 28 Mar to 30 Oct 2027 | BST | 4 h 30 min ahead |
| 31 Oct to 31 Dec 2027 | GMT | 5 h 30 min ahead |
The UK change happens at 6:30am or 7:30am in India, so Indian colleagues see the difference shift on a Sunday morning.
Best times to call India from the UK
| UK time | India (UK on BST) | India (UK on GMT) |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | 12:30 | 13:30 |
| 10:00 | 14:30 | 15:30 |
| 12:00 | 16:30 | 17:30 |
| 17:00 | 21:30 | 22:30 |
A typical Indian office day of 9:30am to 6pm IST overlaps with UK mornings, roughly 8am to 1:30pm BST or 8am to 12:30pm GMT. For family calls, a UK evening is already late at night in India, so weekend mornings in the UK usually suit both sides.
Converting the time
9am in London is 2:30pm in India when the UK is on GMT, and 1:30pm when the UK is on BST. To go the other way, take off 5½ hours in winter or 4½ hours in summer: a 7:30pm IST cricket start is 2pm GMT or 3pm BST. For any other date and time, use the time zone converter, or find a slot for a team call with the meeting planner.
Nearby places
Pakistan is 30 minutes behind India: see time in Pakistan. The UAE is 1½ hours behind: see time in Dubai. Compare more cities on the world clock, read how GMT works, or check when the UK clocks change next.
Frequently asked questions
Is India ahead of the UK?
Yes. India is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK while the UK is on British Summer Time (late March to late October) and 5 hours 30 minutes ahead for the rest of the year.
Why is India 30 minutes off the hour?
Indian Standard Time is based on the 82.5°E meridian near Mirzapur. 82.5 degrees divided by 15 degrees an hour gives 5.5 hours, so IST is UTC+5:30.
Does India have daylight saving time?
No. India keeps IST all year. It last used a form of summer time during the Second World War.
Does India have more than one time zone?
No. IST is the only official time across India, even though the sun rises almost two hours earlier in the far north-east than in western Gujarat.
What does IST stand for?
Indian Standard Time, UTC+5:30. Irish summer time is also abbreviated IST (Irish Standard Time, UTC+1), so check which one is meant when someone writes a meeting time in IST.