Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi commissioned the White Rabbit Technology-based Indian Standard Time (IST) Dissemination Demonstration Network at the Regional Reference Standard Laboratory (RRSL) in Bengaluru, marking a significant step towards building a secure and indigenous national time synchronisation system.
The demonstration network, developed jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs, CSIR–National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), enables the secure dissemination of UTC (NPLI)-traceable Indian Standard Time using Precision Time Protocol (PTP)-based White Rabbit Technology. The system is designed to deliver highly accurate, secure and resilient time synchronisation for critical sectors, including banking, financial markets, telecommunications, power systems, transportation, digital governance and other strategic infrastructure.
During the event, Joshi said accurate and secure dissemination of Indian Standard Time is emerging as a key component of India’s digital public infrastructure. He said a trusted national time source would strengthen consumer protection, support fair trade, enhance cyber resilience and improve the reliability of financial markets, telecommunications, power systems and digital governance.
The minister also announced that the Department of Consumer Affairs, in collaboration with CSIR–NPL, ISRO, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the National Stock Exchange (NSE), BSNL and other stakeholders, has successfully completed the verification of secure dissemination of Indian Standard Time between the RRSL in Bengaluru and the NSE in Chennai using White Rabbit Technology.
Earlier in the day, Joshi visited ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru to review the progress of the Indian Standard Time Dissemination Project, being implemented jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs, CSIR–NPL, ISRO and other partner institutions.
During the visit, he inspected the facilities developed for disseminating Indian Standard Time and interacted with scientists and engineers associated with the project. He appreciated ISRO’s role in developing an indigenous, secure and resilient time dissemination infrastructure and acknowledged its collaboration in advancing the government’s “One Nation, One Time” initiative.
Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Nidhi Khare described the project as an important step towards establishing a secure, resilient and indigenous national time synchronisation framework. She said the initiative, along with ongoing legal metrology reforms, would strengthen consumer confidence, improve ease of doing business and contribute to India’s digital transformation.
Joshi congratulated the scientists, engineers and technical teams from ISRO, CSIR–NPL, RRSL Bengaluru and other partner organisations for achieving another milestone under the “One Nation, One Time” initiative. He expressed confidence that the project would enhance India’s technological capabilities, reduce dependence on foreign timing sources, strengthen critical digital infrastructure and position the country among the world’s leading nations in precision time dissemination.
The event was attended by ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan, ISTRAC Director Raghavendra M. R., Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, senior scientists and officials from ISRO, the Department of Consumer Affairs and CSIR–NPL, along with representatives from BSNL, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
