CET to IST Converter

Here CET means Central European Time, CET (UTC+1) in its winter and CEST (UTC+2) in its summer, as kept in Berlin; IST means India Standard Time, UTC+5:30 all year. So IST is 4 h 30 min ahead of CET in January and 3 h 30 min ahead in July. Two 9-to-5 working days overlap by 3 h 30 min in January and 4 h 30 min in July.

Central European Time is the clock of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and most of the European Union, so CET to IST covers a lot of Europe–India work: automotive and engineering firms, banks in Frankfurt and Paris with Indian delivery centres, and students in Germany calling home. The two working days overlap well, with the whole European morning falling in the Indian afternoon.

Europe moves its clocks; India does not. In winter (CET, UTC+1) India is 4 h 30 min ahead; from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October Europe is on CEST (UTC+2) and India is only 3 h 30 min ahead. People in Europe keep saying “CET” in summer, so this page follows the clock in Berlin on the date you choose. Ireland, the UK and Portugal are not on CET, and Finland, Greece and Romania are an hour ahead of it.

Rule of thumb: Add 4½ hours to Central European time in winter and 3½ hours in summer: 10:00 am in Berlin is 2:30 pm or 1:30 pm in India.