Atomic clocks to ensure one-nation, one time
NEW DELHI : India is deploying atomic clocks across the country to ensure the time shown on your digital watch, smartphone and laptop is truly based on Indian Standard Time—an effort launched more than two decades ago after the Kargil war. 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.
Read more on livemint.com
