Currently, most software operating modules in India rely on US-based Network Time Protocol servers. The government wants all software to instead be synchronised with indigenous atomic clocks, both for uniformity in time and as a defence mechanism, especially in times of war. 

The atomic clocks are being installed by the consumer affairs ministry’s Legal Metrology Department and the National Physical Laboratory, or NPL—the nation’s timekeeper. So far, India has atomic clocks at Ahmedabad and Faridabad and more are being installed at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Hyderabad as well, according to three officials aware of the development.

“The installation and testing of all atomic clocks will be completed by the end of June,” one of them said.

Once the exercise is completed, all computers, smartphones, digital watches, and digital radios will have Indian time managed by NPL and the consumer affairs ministry’s Regional Reference Standard Laboratories, ensuring “one nation, one time”, this person said.

The project was initiated after the Kargil war when India was denied information on the GPS location of Pakistani intruders, a second person said. “The importance of having our own time is significant, especially in areas like defence security, cybersecurity, and online transactions. Even a small time gap can be crucial in such situations.”

The consumer affairs ministry didn’t immediately reply to queries on the developments.

Only four other countries—the US, the UK, Japan, and Korea—have their own atomic clocks.

The government, through the consumer affairs ministry, is developing a legal framework to mandate that all software service providers across the country synchronise their time with the atomic clocks developed by the National Physical Laboratory, said the first person quoted above.

Failure to comply may result in severe penalties, including the cancellation of licences.

“Currently, accurate time-keeping is done through satellite… (the) consumer affairs ministry and NPL are working on a plan to connect all atomic clocks through optical cable as it will be more secure, given that satellite-based time dissemination is susceptible to potential blockage by enemy countries during wartime or emergencies,” said Venu Gopal Achanta, director of CSIR-NPL.

The optical cable-laying work would be completed in about six months, he added.

“The Indian Space Research Organisation is utilising the NavIC (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) constellation for the dissemination of time across the country with an uncertainty of 20 nanoseconds,” Achanta said. “With this, every corner of the country will have Indian Standard Time.”