CSIR joins hands with ISRO to achieve 100 pc time traceability

New Delhi, Aug 4 : Two premier science institutes of the country today came together to get the uncertainty factor in the time scale of the Indian Standard Time to the minimum, or rather, achieve 100 per cent time and frequency traceability. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), under which the former will provide time and frequency traceability to the latter. The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh at the CSIR Science Centre, here. On the occasion, Dr Vardhan said the development dynamics of a country depends on precise time keeping. At the national level, time synchronisation is very essential for all kinds of financial transactions, stock handling, digital archiving, time stamping, international trade, national security and to prevent cyber crimes. The weather forecast prediction depends on accurate time information and its synchronisation, which is a complex phenomenon, he added. The CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) uses the most advanced technological clocks to maintain the Indian Standard Time. The National Time Scale is contributing to the Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), maintained by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), having uncertainty of 20 nanoseconds. 'I wish time accuracy could also be put into practice by the people of India,' Dr Vardhan said in a lighter tone, referring to the late-timers. According to Dr Singh, the NPL sources IST from the US-based National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but time may vary. After this MoU, the space clocks will be synchronised to that of the Primary National Atomic Clocks at the National Physical Laboratory, thus having independence and one possible time. This agreement has formally synchronised the country's indigenous GPS with the IST, resulting in better precision and lesser uncertainty, he added. Dr Girish Sahni, Director General of CSIR, said the collaboration brings together two high-end research and development organisations, which are primarily knowledge driven and knowledge base providers. UNI