Does India's Northeast Need its own Time Zone?

By Dinesh C Sharma, Mail Online, May 26, 2015

A group of MPs from the north-east have once again raised the demand for a separate time zone for the north-eastern states. 

Different time zones in North America and Europe have been in vogue for a long time. Countries with extreme cold weather also have different time for summers called Daylight Saving Time (DST).

Setting the clock back by half an hour or one hour ensures better use of daylight in these countries, and helps them save energy.

It has been argued that north-east India needs a separate time zone for the same reason. The difference in sunrise/sunset time between the eastern and western parts in India is about two hours.

Since day breaks earlier in the east than the rest of the country, a different time zone could allow people there to start working sooner. This could lead to energy saving and productivity gains.

In fact, tea gardens in Assam start work at 8am, continuing a practice started during the colonial rule.

This timing is so widespread that it is nick-named “bagaan timing” or the tea garden time. In 

effect, tea gardens in Assam follow their own informal time zone. 

Read the full story here in Daily Mail