In India's isolated north-east, time for a change

Guwahati, India

BY the time the working day begins in north-east India on the longest day of the year, the sun is already high in the sky and the heat is nearing its peak - because clocks across the vast country are set to the same hour.

India has just one time zone for its 1.2 billion people, spread from points further east than Bangladesh to the western Arabian Sea. The entire country's time is aligned to that of a town in Uttar Pradesh, which sits near the longitude line closest to centre of the country.