CST to IST and IST to CST converter
India Standard Time (IST, UTC+5:30) is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead of Central Time during CST, and 10 hours 30 minutes ahead during CDT. India does not change its clocks, so the gap changes when the US does.
Central Time to IST, hour by hour
For today’s date. Central Time is currently UTC−5, which covers Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Minneapolis and Mexico City (which no longer uses DST).
| Central Time | India (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 (next day) |
| 3:00 PM | 1:30 AM (next day) |
| 4:00 PM | 2:30 AM (next day) |
| 5:00 PM | 3:30 AM (next day) |
| 6:00 PM | 4:30 AM (next day) |
| 7:00 PM | 5:30 AM (next day) |
| 8:00 PM | 6:30 AM (next day) |
| 9:00 PM | 7:30 AM (next day) |
| 10:00 PM | 8:30 AM (next day) |
| 11:00 PM | 9:30 AM (next day) |
IST to Central Time, hour by hour
| India (IST) | Central Time |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 1:30 PM (previous day) |
| 1:00 AM | 2:30 PM (previous day) |
| 2:00 AM | 3:30 PM (previous day) |
| 3:00 AM | 4:30 PM (previous day) |
| 4:00 AM | 5:30 PM (previous day) |
| 5:00 AM | 6:30 PM (previous day) |
| 6:00 AM | 7:30 PM (previous day) |
| 7:00 AM | 8:30 PM (previous day) |
| 8:00 AM | 9:30 PM (previous day) |
| 9:00 AM | 10:30 PM (previous day) |
| 10:00 AM | 11:30 PM (previous day) |
| 11:00 AM | 12:30 AM |
| 12:00 PM | 1:30 AM |
| 1:00 PM | 2:30 AM |
| 2:00 PM | 3:30 AM |
| 3:00 PM | 4:30 AM |
| 4:00 PM | 5:30 AM |
| 5:00 PM | 6:30 AM |
| 6:00 PM | 7:30 AM |
| 7:00 PM | 8:30 AM |
| 8:00 PM | 9:30 AM |
| 9:00 PM | 10:30 AM |
| 10:00 PM | 11:30 AM |
| 11:00 PM | 12:30 PM |
Best times for calls between Central Time and India
Texas and the Midwest are home to many US–India teams, especially in Dallas, Houston and Chicago. Central Time is an hour behind New York, which makes the evening India window a little later:
- Early US morning, India evening. 7:00–9:00 AM Central is 5:30–7:30 PM IST in summer (CDT) and 6:30–8:30 PM IST in winter (CST).
- US evening, India morning. 8:00–9:30 PM Central is 6:30–8:00 AM IST in summer and 7:30–9:00 AM IST in winter.
Careful: “CST” can mean China Standard Time
CST is also the abbreviation for China Standard Time (UTC+8), which is 2½ hours ahead of India. In an invite from a US colleague, CST almost always means US Central. In one from China or Taiwan it means UTC+8. This page is about US Central Time. For China, pick “China (CST)” in the time zone converter.
Also note that Mexico stopped using daylight saving time in 2022, so Mexico City stays on UTC−6 all year while Chicago moves to UTC−5 in summer.
Frequently asked questions
What is 9 AM CST in IST?
8:30 PM IST in winter (CST, UTC−6) and 7:30 PM IST in summer (CDT, UTC−5).
What is 7 PM IST in CST?
7:30 AM Central in winter (CST) and 8:30 AM Central in summer (CDT).
How many hours ahead is India from Chicago or Dallas?
11 hours 30 minutes during CST (November to March) and 10 hours 30 minutes during CDT (March to November).