Best Time to Call India from the US
India Standard Time is 10 hours and 30 minutes ahead of US Eastern Time. With IST's half-hour offset and a narrow overlap window, scheduling US-India calls requires careful planning. This guide shows you exactly when to call and how to make it work for both sides.
Time Difference Overview
India does not observe Daylight Saving Time, so IST stays at UTC+5:30 year-round. The US, however, shifts between standard and daylight time. This means the gap between the US and India changes twice a year.
Eastern Time (ET)
Central Time (CT)
Pacific Time (PT)
India Standard Time (IST)
Key detail: IST has a 30-minute offset (UTC+5:30), which means conversions never land on the hour. When it is 9:00 AM in New York, it is 7:30 PM in Mumbai. When it is 9:00 AM in Los Angeles, it is 10:30 PM in Mumbai. This half-hour quirk catches many people off guard.
Work Hours Overlap
Visual timeline showing 9 AM -- 6 PM work hours for each US time zone and India, with overlap highlighted.
The overlap between US Eastern and India business hours is limited to about 1-2 hours in the US morning (India evening). For US Pacific and India, the overlap shrinks further -- most calls land in India's late evening.
ET to IST Conversion Table
Full 24-hour comparison. Business hours (9 AM -- 6 PM) are highlighted.
| ET | IST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 10:30 AM |
| 1:00 AM | 11:30 AM |
| 2:00 AM | 12:30 PM |
| 3:00 AM | 1:30 PM |
| 4:00 AM | 2:30 PM |
| 5:00 AM | 3:30 PM |
| 6:00 AM | 4:30 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 5:30 PM |
| 8:00 AM | 6:30 PM |
| 9:00 AM | 7:30 PM |
| 10:00 AM | 8:30 PM |
| 11:00 AM | 9:30 PM |
| 12:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
| 1:00 PM | 11:30 PM |
| 2:00 PM | 12:30 AM +1 day |
| 3:00 PM | 1:30 AM +1 day |
| 4:00 PM | 2:30 AM +1 day |
| 5:00 PM | 3:30 AM +1 day |
| 6:00 PM | 4:30 AM +1 day |
| 7:00 PM | 5:30 AM +1 day |
| 8:00 PM | 6:30 AM +1 day |
| 9:00 PM | 7:30 AM +1 day |
| 10:00 PM | 8:30 AM +1 day |
| 11:00 PM | 9:30 AM +1 day |
Best Meeting Times
Top ranked time slots for a 1-hour US East -- India meeting with standard 9 AM -- 6 PM work hours.
1 of 2 members within working hours. 1 in mid-day range (9 AM–5 PM). Outside work hours for US East. Note: 1 timezone(s) have a DST transition within 14 days.
1 of 2 members within working hours. 1 in mid-day range (9 AM–5 PM). Outside work hours for US East. Note: 1 timezone(s) have a DST transition within 14 days.
1 of 2 members within working hours. 1 in mid-day range (9 AM–5 PM). Outside work hours for US East. Note: 1 timezone(s) have a DST transition within 14 days.
1 of 2 members within working hours. 1 in mid-day range (9 AM–5 PM). Outside work hours for US East. Note: 1 timezone(s) have a DST transition within 14 days.
1 of 2 members within working hours. 1 in mid-day range (9 AM–5 PM). Outside work hours for US East. Note: 1 timezone(s) have a DST transition within 14 days.
Need custom work hours? Try the interactive Meeting Time Finder →
Practical Tips for US-India Scheduling
With a 10 hours and 30 minutes gap and a half-hour offset, US-India calls require extra care. These tips come from teams that make it work every day.
- Target the US morning window. The sweet spot for most US-India calls is 8:00 AM -- 10:00 AM Eastern Time. This maps to 6:30 PM -- 8:30 PM IST -- India team members are wrapping up their day but still available. Earlier than 8 AM ET means you are asking the US side to start early; later than 10 AM ET pushes India past 8:30 PM.
- Account for the 30-minute offset in calendar invites. Because IST is offset by 30 minutes from the hour, your calendar invite will show times like 7:30 PM, 8:30 PM, or 9:30 PM in India. Make sure participants understand the actual IST time -- do not round to the nearest hour.
- Rotate between US morning and India morning if possible. If your team meets more than once a week, alternate between a US morning slot (good for India evening) and an India morning slot (late US evening). This distributes the inconvenience fairly. For example, Monday at 9 AM ET / 7:30 PM IST and Thursday at 8 AM IST / 9:30 PM ET.
- US Pacific teams have the hardest overlap. PT to IST is a 13 hours and 30 minutes gap. A 7:00 AM PT call is already 8:30 PM in India. Consider whether PT team members can start at 6:00 AM or if India colleagues are willing to stay until 9:30 PM occasionally.
- Watch for US DST transitions. India does not observe DST, so when the US springs forward in March, the gap shrinks by one hour (an improvement for scheduling). When the US falls back in November, the gap widens by one hour. The next US transition is spring forward on March 9, 2026.
- Use asynchronous communication for non-urgent items. With only 1-2 hours of overlap, reserve synchronous meetings for decisions that need real-time discussion. Use recorded video updates, shared documents, or messaging tools for everything else. This reduces the number of difficult-to-schedule calls.
How US DST Affects India Calls
Since India does not observe DST, the US-India time difference shifts twice a year:
- US standard time (November -- March): ET is at UTC-5, making the gap 10 hours 30 minutes. A 9:00 AM ET meeting lands at 7:30 PM IST.
- US daylight time (March -- November): ET is at UTC-4, shrinking the gap to 9 hours 30 minutes. A 9:00 AM ET meeting lands at 6:30 PM IST -- one hour earlier for India. This is actually better for India-side scheduling.
When the US springs forward, notify your India colleagues that the meeting will shift one hour earlier on their calendars. When the US falls back, the meeting shifts one hour later in India. See our US DST team impact guide for detailed transition dates.
Related Conversions
Related Resources
- Meeting Time Finder -- Find the best overlap window with custom work hours for your specific team.
- Best Meeting Time Calculator -- Get ranked meeting slots with scores for multi-zone teams.
- How US DST Affects International Teams -- Detailed breakdown of spring/fall transitions for global teams.
- Best Time to Call Europe from the US -- Scheduling guide for the US-Europe corridor.
- Scheduling Across Time Zones -- Best practices for fairness and reducing late-night calls.