IST to EST: Time Difference and Best Call Hours (Free)

To convert IST to EST, subtract 10 hours 30 minutes in the US winter (roughly November to March), or 9 hours 30 minutes while the US is on daylight saving time (roughly March to November). So 9:00 pm in India is 10:30 am in New York in January, but 11:30 am in July. The free time zone converter applies the right gap for the exact date you pick, so you don't have to remember which season it is.

The gap changes because India keeps the same time all year (IST is UTC+5:30), while the US East Coast moves its clocks forward an hour in March and back in November.

IST to EST at a glance

India (IST)	US Eastern, summer (EDT)	US Eastern, winter (EST)
9:00 am	11:30 pm, previous day	10:30 pm, previous day
12:00 pm	2:30 am	1:30 am
6:00 pm	8:30 am	7:30 am
7:30 pm	10:00 am	9:00 am
9:00 pm	11:30 am	10:30 am
10:30 pm	1:00 pm	12:00 pm

Going the other way (EST to IST), add the same gap: 9:00 am in New York is 7:30 pm in India in winter and 6:30 pm in summer.

"EST" strictly means Eastern Standard Time, the winter time. In summer the East Coast is on EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). People often say "EST" all year, so when someone gives you a time "in EST" in July, they almost always mean New York time, which is EDT.

When the gap changes

US clocks change on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November. India doesn't change at all, so the gap shifts on those dates:

Period	Eastern Time	Gap from IST
8 Mar 2026 to 1 Nov 2026	EDT (UTC−4)	9 h 30 min
1 Nov 2026 to 14 Mar 2027	EST (UTC−5)	10 h 30 min
14 Mar 2027 to 7 Nov 2027	EDT (UTC−4)	9 h 30 min

These dates follow current US rules. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would keep daylight saving time all year, passed the US House on 14 July 2026 but still needed a Senate vote and the President's signature, as far as reports showed at the time of writing (October 2026). Check the latest news before relying on dates after November 2026. If the law changes, the converter follows your device's time zone data once it's updated. The daylight saving time dates guide lists the UK and EU changes too.

Other US time zones from India

The US has several zones. From IST:

US zone	Example city	Summer gap	Winter gap
Eastern	New York, Atlanta	9 h 30 min	10 h 30 min
Central	Chicago, Dallas	10 h 30 min	11 h 30 min
Pacific	San Francisco, Seattle	12 h 30 min	13 h 30 min

Arizona mostly doesn't use daylight saving time, so its gap from India stays at 12 h 30 min all year. Always check which city your contact is in, not just the zone name.

The best overlap hours for India-US calls

India's evening overlaps with the US East Coast morning. Some practical windows:

• East Coast, summer: 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm IST is 9:00 am to 12:00 pm EDT.
• East Coast, winter: 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm IST is 9:00 am to 12:00 pm EST.
• West Coast: the overlap is thin. 9:00 pm IST is 8:30 am PDT in summer and 7:30 am PST in winter. Many teams use an early US morning and a late Indian evening, or rotate who takes the awkward slot.

The converter's meeting planner makes this visual. Each column is the same moment in every city: green for 9 am to 5 pm, pale for early morning and evening, dark for night. Look for a column where both rows are green or pale.

How to convert with the tool

1. Open the free time zone converter. Your own city is added first.
2. Type IST or Kolkata into Add a city or time zone if India isn't already there, then EST or New York. EST is mapped to New York, so daylight saving is handled.
3. Pick the Date of your call. This matters: a call in late October and one in mid-November have different gaps.
4. Set the Time in the main city, or press Now for the current time.
5. Read each city's time. A "+1 day" or "−1 day" label shows when the other city is on a different date.
6. Press Copy times to paste all the times into an invite, or Copy link to these cities to share the same view.

Tick 24-hour clock if you prefer times like 19:30; it helps avoid am/pm mix-ups late at night. The 24-hour time guide has a full chart.

Tips for India-US teams

• Always write both times in invites: "7:30 pm IST / 9:00 am EST, Tue 12 Jan".
• Watch the date. 9:00 am Wednesday in India is still Tuesday night in New York.
• Recheck recurring meetings in March and November. A 9:00 am New York stand-up moves an hour later or earlier for India when US clocks change.
• Count down to a launch or deadline across zones with the free countdown timer, and share the link so everyone sees the same moment.

For three or more cities, the guide to scheduling meetings across time zones walks through a full example.

Convert a time now

Add India and New York to the free time zone converter, pick your date, and read both times side by side. It's free, needs no sign-up and works everything out on your device.