The Department of Consumer Affairs commissioned a White Rabbit Technology-based Indian Standard Time (IST) Dissemination Demonstration Network at the Regional Reference Standard Laboratory (RRSL), Bengaluru. The network is intended to provide secure, UTC (NPLI)-traceable Indian Standard Time for critical digital and physical infrastructure.
The project matters because accurate time synchronisation is no longer only a metrology issue. It is also a governance, cybersecurity, and critical-infrastructure issue for banking, telecommunications, power systems, transport, and digital governance.
What happened
The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Joshi, commissioned the demonstration network on 16 July 2026 at RRSL Bengaluru.
The Department of Consumer Affairs developed the network jointly with CSIR–National Physical Laboratory (CSIR–NPL) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The system uses Precision Time Protocol (PTP)-based White Rabbit Technology to disseminate time securely.
Why the project matters
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