Best Meeting Times for US and India Teams

Teams split between the United States and India have one of the widest gaps in common use. India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 all year and does not observe daylight saving time. US cities move their clocks twice a year, so the gap is never constant. Eastern time sits 10.5 hours behind India in winter and 9.5 hours behind in summer.

Understand the gap

A 9 AM meeting in New York is 7:30 PM in Mumbai in summer and 8:30 PM in winter, depending on the date. Pacific time is further away: 12.5 hours behind India in summer and 13.5 hours in winter. These are the numbers to check before you schedule any recurring call.

The half-hour offset matters. Many tools round to the nearest hour, which puts invitations in the wrong place. Use a planner that handles 30-minute offsets, and confirm the time in India on the invitation.

Where the overlap usually is

Working hours rarely overlap for a full day. In practice, the best windows are:

• Early morning in the US, late afternoon in India. An 8 AM Eastern call is about 5:30 PM in India. It works well for a 30 to 60 minute standup.
• Late evening in the US, next morning in India. A 7 PM Eastern call is about 4:30 AM in India, which is usually too early. Avoid it unless the Indian team is on a flexible schedule.

For Pacific teams, the window moves earlier. An 8 AM Pacific call is about 8:30 PM in India, which is late for most people, so a 7 AM Pacific start is often more realistic.

Share the inconvenience

If one side always starts early and the other always stays late, people burn out. Use a rotation: alternate the weekly call between an early US slot and a late US slot, and note the pattern in your team calendar. Publish the schedule so everyone can plan.

Asynchronous updates also help. A short written summary replaces a meeting for many topics, and it lets people in each region work during their own hours.

Plan for daylight saving

US daylight saving starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. India has no change, so for a few weeks each spring and autumn the gap is one hour different from the usual figure. Recurring calls set in winter can drift an hour early or late for part of the year.

Check your recurring meetings in the weeks around those dates. Your calendar app should adjust automatically, but confirm the first call after each change.

Checklist for the next invite

1. Pick the owner’s time zone as the reference.
2. Compare the meeting time in every city, including the date.
3. Mark whether each attendee is in working hours, early or late, or outside them.
4. Rotate the less convenient slot.
5. Send one invite that lists the time for each city.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a time that works for both New York and Bengaluru? Usually only for an hour or so, early in the US morning and late in the Indian afternoon. Check the overlap for your exact date.

Does India use daylight saving? No. Its offset stays at UTC+5:30 throughout the year.

What if our team includes people in several Indian cities? All major Indian cities share the same offset, so one time works for all of them.

See the meeting planner to compare US and Indian cities, or try the Eastern to India converter.