India's 'One Nation, One Time' Initiative

The NavIC System

This morning (29-01-2025) ISRO successfully launched their GSLV-F15 rocket  precisely injecting the NVS-02 navigation satellite into the required orbit. This launch marked ISRO's 100th rocket mission, with the first big rocket liftoff, 46 years ago, on 10th August 1979.

Image Credit: Indian Aerospace & Defence Bulletin

On this occasion, I am proud to recall that during 1976-1985 I was working at the Space Applications Center (ISRO), Ahmedabad on satellite remote sensing and prior to that, during 1972-1976, I was part of the team at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (ISRO), Trivandrum, involved in the structural analysis of SLV rockets. See the past blog of May 22, 2017 titled Vintage Computer Programming of 1970s. 

NVS-02 is the second in the series of the NavIC system (Navigation with Indian Constellation), which is India's independent regional navigation satellite system, previously known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). NVS-02, equipped with cutting edge technologies, uses a combination of indigenous and procured atomic clocks for precise time estimation, and is designed to provide accurate Position, Velocity and Timing (PVT) service to users. 

You might be wondering why the new name NavIC instead of the old IRNSS. Well, the Sanskrit word "नाविक" (Navik) means "sailor" or "navigator" in English.

NavIC enhances India’s technological self-reliance offering India a reliable, indigenous alternative for navigation by reducing dependency on foreign systems like the GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (Europe), and BeiDou (China). The system covers areas from India extending up to 1500 kms and is expected to reach more areas in the future.

One Nation, One Time

Using its own NavIC system for precise time dissemination, India is set to shift from USA's GPS-based time determination, reducing dependence on foreign systems and enhancing national security. The Government has already announced that India will move to One Nation, One Time.  

India has completed most of the work for the Time Dissemination Project with atomic clocks installed in Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar. Atomic clocks are extraordinarily accurate, operating based on the movements of atoms. Their margin of error is just one second in 100 million years.

'One Nation, One Time' may sound like the political slogan 'One Nation, One Election'! Also, it sets us wondering: were we having multiple times till now? Didn't we have an Indian Standard Time (IST)?  

In fact, with the prevalence of inexpensive smartwatches and mobile phones, I thought everyone had time accurate down to the second. But it looks like this 'second-accurate' time isn't good enough for lots of activities!

Who Needs High Accuracy Timing?

We can understand that precise time keeping is crucial for a country in several sectors including Scientific Research, National Security, Economic Growth. Some example are:

• Space Exploration: Precise timekeeping is vital for deep space navigation, communication with spacecraft, and understanding the effects of gravity on time.
• Particle Physics: Experiments in particle accelerators require extremely precise timing for accurate measurements and data analysis.
• Fundamental Physics: Atomic clocks are essential for testing fundamental theories in physics, such as Einstein's theory of relativity.
• Navigation Systems: Accurate timekeeping is fundamental for satellite navigation systems, crucial for military operations, civilian navigation, and emergency response.
• Telecommunications: Precise timing is necessary for synchronizing communication networks, ensuring reliable and secure data transmission.
• Cybersecurity: Many cybersecurity measures rely on precise timestamps to detect and respond to threats effectively.
• Energy Grids: Precise timing is crucial for managing the flow of electricity in modern power grids, ensuring stability and efficiency.
• Scientific and Technological Advancement: Accurate timekeeping supports a wide range of scientific and technological advancements, driving innovation and economic growth.
• Transportation: Precise timing is essential for the safe and efficient operation of transportation systems, including air traffic control and railway signaling.
• Broadcasting: Accurate timekeeping is necessary for synchronizing broadcast signals, ensuring consistent and reliable media delivery.

That is, the precision time keeping is not just a scientific curiosity; it has profound implications for national security, economic prosperity, and technological advancement.

Banking and Financial Services Sector

However, you will be surprised to know that it is the Banking and Financial Services that needs high accuracy timing with several digits accuracy for the second. The precision and accuracy of time stamping has never been so important in financial services, where tiny fractions of a second matter. High-frequency trading and other financial transactions require precise timestamps to ensure fairness and prevent fraud.

A timestamp is a sequence of characters identifying when a certain event occurred. The format of such a timestamp is YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.fffffff with 7 fractions of a second. 

By utilizing highly precise timestamps in financial settlements, we can significantly reduce confusion and ambiguity, ensuring smoother and more efficient transactions.

For such timestamps to occur, highly accurate clock synchronization becomes very important. The financial services transactions need to ensure that server clocks synchronization is accurate to within 100 microseconds of UTC that stands for Coordinated Universal Time.

Accurate timestamps are indispensable for high-frequency automated trading platforms, where thousands of buy, sell, and cancel orders are processed concurrently.

Summary

Fortifying national security requires a unified time standard. The adoption of IST will improve the synchronization of critical infrastructure, enhance the efficiency of digital governance, and ensure the accuracy of financial transactions and record-keeping. This will contribute to a more secure and efficient nation.