UK Time vs India
India runs on a single time zone, always ahead of the UK, with a gap that shifts slightly when the UK changes its clocks.
United Kingdom
India (IST)
Figures for Monday 26 October 2026. Live figures need JavaScript.
Time difference
India uses one time zone nationwide — India Standard Time (IST), which sits at UTC+5:30. India does not observe daylight saving time, so its clocks never move. The only reason the UK-India time difference changes across the year is that the UK itself switches between GMT and British Summer Time (BST).
India is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK during British Summer Time, and 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK during GMT (winter). Because IST includes a 30-minute offset, the gap is never a round number of hours.
Conversion guide
A quick reference for what common UK times are in India on Monday 26 October 2026. On dates after a clock change in either country the times can differ: check the clock-change note or use the converter.
UK clocks go back at 2am BST (01:00 UTC) on Sunday 25 October 2026. In India, 9am UK is 1:30pm until Saturday 24 October 2026, and 2:30pm from Sunday 25 October 2026.
| UK time | India (IST) |
|---|---|
| 9am | 2:30pm |
| 12pm | 5:30pm |
| 5pm | 10:30pm |
| 9pm | 2:30am |
Best time to call
Late morning to early afternoon UK time, roughly 9am-1pm, usually lines up with India's mid-afternoon to early evening, which tends to be a workable overlap for calls between UK and Indian offices. Indian evenings will already be well past a typical UK working day, so plan ahead for later contact.
Daylight saving notes
India has never used daylight saving time and has kept a fixed UTC+5:30 offset for decades. This means the UK-India gap moves only because of the UK's own clock changes on the last Sundays of March and October — India's clocks themselves are constant all year round.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between the UK and India?
India is 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK during British Summer Time, and 5 hours 30 minutes ahead during GMT (UK winter time), because India Standard Time (IST) never changes.
Does India observe daylight saving time?
No. India has kept a fixed UTC+5:30 offset for many years and does not change its clocks, so any shift in the UK-India gap comes entirely from the UK's own GMT/BST changes.
What time is it in India when it is 12pm in the UK?
When it is 12pm (noon) in the UK, it is 4:30pm in India while the UK is on British Summer Time (late March to late October), and 5:30pm while the UK is on GMT. India does not change its clocks, so it is always either 4 hours 30 minutes or 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK.