Question

Which meridian is known as Indian standard meridian and why?

Answer 1

The longitudinal extent of India is 30o.The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.It takes 4 minutes for the sun to move across 1 longitude. Thus, the eastern most point of India would be 2 hours ahead of the western most point (30 x 4 = 120 minutes), in accordance with the local time.This difference in time might create confusion in air and rail timings and so many other things across the two states. To avoid this confusion a longitude passing through the midpoint of 68o 7' East (western most longitude) and 97o 25' East (eastern most longitude) is taken as the standard prime meridian of India (i.e. 82o30').The time at the standard meridian 82o30' which passes through Mirzapur in UP is taken as the standard time of India, followed all over the country.