India Standard (IST)
Delhi operates on India Standard (IST). This time zone does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Time Zone: India Standard Time (IST) — Standard Offset: UTC+5:30 (IST) — DST: Not observed
Country: India
This city does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The UTC offset remains constant year-round, which simplifies international scheduling.
Delhi operates on IST (UTC+5:30), the same as all of India. As the political capital, Delhi houses the central government, Supreme Court, and diplomatic corps. The city's scheduling importance extends beyond business — government policy announcements, budget presentations, and parliamentary sessions are all timed to IST, and these events increasingly affect global markets given India's economic weight.
India's UTC+5:30 offset is one of the world's few half-hour time zones. This means India is 5.5 hours ahead of London, 10.5 ahead of New York, and 2.5 behind Singapore. The half-hour always complicates mental math and is a frequent source of scheduling errors. There's no shortcut — you have to account for the 30 minutes every time. Calendar apps handle it automatically, but verbal scheduling often leads to 30-minute mix-ups.
Delhi's diplomatic quarter and government offices follow IST business hours (typically 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday). Foreign embassies in Delhi coordinate with their home countries across all time zones, making Delhi a round-the-clock diplomatic hub. The Ministry of External Affairs and major government departments frequently schedule events and press briefings at specific IST times that international media must convert.
Delhi shares IST scheduling dynamics with Mumbai (see Mumbai's detailed breakdown). The key addition for Delhi: government-related scheduling often requires awareness of Indian holidays (many more than Western calendars) and session periods. For US coordination, the 10.5-hour gap means early morning Delhi (8-9 AM IST) catches late evening US East Coast (9:30-10:30 PM ET previous day). The UK overlap is better: morning IST aligns with early morning London.