IST to Cairo
India is 2 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Cairo.
Times may vary due to daylight saving time.Quick answer. Cairo is 3 hours and 30 minutes behind IST for part of the year and 2 hours and 30 minutes behind for the rest, because Cairo observes daylight saving time and the other side does not. The gap is 3 hours and 30 minutes during Cairo's standard-time months and 2 hours and 30 minutes during daylight time, so always convert against a specific date.
Time difference
India Standard Time (IST)
IST UTC+5:30 No DST
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad.
India runs on a single time zone, UTC+5:30, and has not observed daylight saving time since 1945. The half-hour offset is why IST conversions rarely land on a round hour.
Cairo, Egypt
EET UTC+2:00 EEST UTC+3:00 Observes DST
Cairo and the rest of Egypt.
- ↑ April 24, 2026 clocks forward at 1:00 AM · UTC+2:00 → UTC+3:00
- ↓ October 29, 2026 clocks back at 11:00 PM · UTC+3:00 → UTC+2:00
DST reintroduced 2023
IST to Cairo conversion table
Every hour of the day for 2026. Because Cairo changes clocks twice a year, these values shift by an hour across the daylight saving boundary — use the date picker above for a specific day.
| IST | Cairo | 24-hour |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 9:30 PM −1 day | 21:30 |
| 1 AM | 10:30 PM −1 day | 22:30 |
| 2 AM | 11:30 PM −1 day | 23:30 |
| 3 AM | 12:30 AM | 00:30 |
| 4 AM | 1:30 AM | 01:30 |
| 5 AM | 2:30 AM | 02:30 |
| 6 AM | 3:30 AM | 03:30 |
| 7 AM | 4:30 AM | 04:30 |
| 8 AM | 5:30 AM | 05:30 |
| 9 AM | 6:30 AM | 06:30 |
| 10 AM | 7:30 AM | 07:30 |
| 11 AM | 8:30 AM | 08:30 |
| 12 PM | 9:30 AM | 09:30 |
| 1 PM | 10:30 AM | 10:30 |
| 2 PM | 11:30 AM | 11:30 |
| 3 PM | 12:30 PM | 12:30 |
| 4 PM | 1:30 PM | 13:30 |
| 5 PM | 2:30 PM | 14:30 |
| 6 PM | 3:30 PM | 15:30 |
| 7 PM | 4:30 PM | 16:30 |
| 8 PM | 5:30 PM | 17:30 |
| 9 PM | 6:30 PM | 18:30 |
| 10 PM | 7:30 PM | 19:30 |
| 11 PM | 8:30 PM | 20:30 |
Highlighted rows are the 6 hours where a 9–6 working day in IST overlaps a 9–5 working day in Cairo.
Popular conversion times
| IST | Cairo |
|---|---|
| 9 AM IST | 6:30 AM |
| 10 AM IST | 7:30 AM |
| 11 AM IST | 8:30 AM |
| 12 PM IST | 9:30 AM |
| 3 PM IST | 12:30 PM |
| 5 PM IST | 2:30 PM |
| 6 PM IST | 3:30 PM |
| 8 PM IST | 5:30 PM |
Business hours and meeting times
Comparing a 9:00–18:00 working day in IST against 9:00–17:00 in Cairo, across the whole week — a slot only counts if it lands on a working day at both ends.
IST works Monday to Friday while Cairo works Sunday to Thursday, so you share 4 working days a week — Monday to Thursday. Friday is a normal working day in IST but a weekend in Cairo. Sunday is worked in Cairo while IST is off.
Rows are days in IST. Columns are hours of the IST day.
Best recurring slot
1 PM IST = 10:30 AM Cairo , every shared working day
Across the week that is 24 overlapping working hours . The widest day is Monday, with 6 hours.
| Day | Overlap (IST) | Local (Cairo) | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 12 PM – 6 PM | 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM | 6 |
| Tuesday | 12 PM – 6 PM | 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM | 6 |
| Wednesday | 12 PM – 6 PM | 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM | 6 |
| Thursday | 12 PM – 6 PM | 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM | 6 |
| Friday | Cairo weekend | — | — |
| Saturday | IST weekend | — | — |
| Sunday | IST weekend | — | — |
Public holidays
A shared working day is only usable if neither side is on holiday — and India and Cairo build their calendars on different systems, so the days each loses rarely coincide.
Over the next 8 weeks you share 32 working days. 2are lost to a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 30.
| Date | Who is off | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | Cairo | Armed Forces Day (عيد القوات المسلحة) |
| Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | India | Dussehra (Vijayadashami) |
Next holidays in India
- Friday, October 2, 2026Gandhi Jayantisame date every year
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026Dussehra (Vijayadashami)partialpublished date
- Sunday, November 8, 2026Diwalipublished date
- Monday, November 9, 2026Diwalipublished date
- Friday, December 25, 2026Christmas Daypartialsame date every year
India has three national holidays on which the whole country closes. Everything else is either a central-government gazetted holiday that individual employers choose to observe, or a state holiday. Festival dates follow lunisolar calendars and move every year, so they are listed explicitly rather than derived.
Next holidays in Cairo
- Tuesday, October 6, 2026Armed Forces Day (عيد القوات المسلحة)published date
- Thursday, January 7, 2027Christmas Day (Orthodox) (عيد الميلاد المجيد)published date
- Monday, January 25, 2027Revolution Day 2011 / National Police Day (عيد الثورة 25 يناير)published date
- Sunday, April 25, 2027Sinai Liberation Day (عيد تحرير سيناء)published date
- Saturday, May 1, 2027Labour Day (عيد العمال)published date
Public holidays as published by https://date.nager.at, covering 2026–2028. Regional and employer-specific days are not included.
Holiday dates for Cairo and elsewhere come from a dataset last refreshed on 2026-09-12 (date.nager.at plus curated national calendars). Lunar dates — Eid, Chinese New Year, the Jewish holidays — are predicted and can move by a day once officially announced. Regional, state and employer-specific holidays are not included. Confirm anything you are booking a flight around.
About this conversion
India runs on a single time zone, UTC+5:30, and has not observed daylight saving time since 1945. The half-hour offset is why IST conversions rarely land on a round hour.
DST reintroduced 2023
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between IST and Cairo?
It depends on the date. Cairo is 3 hours and 30 minutes behind IST in January and 2 hours and 30 minutes behind in July, because Cairo changes clocks for daylight saving time. Use the converter above with the date you actually need.
What time is 9 AM IST in Cairo?
9:00 AM IST is 5:30 AM in Cairo during EET, and 6:30 AM during EEST. The table on this page lists all 24 hours for the date you pick.
What is the best time for a meeting between IST and Cairo?
Working days overlap for about 6 hours on a typical Monday: 12 PM to 6 PM IST, which is 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM in Cairo. For a recurring invite, 1 PM IST / 10:30 AM Cairo is the slot that works on the most days.
Does India observe daylight saving time?
No. India has kept a single UTC+5:30 offset since 1945 and does not use daylight saving time, so IST reads the same on every date of the year. Any change in the gap to Cairo comes entirely from the other side.
When do the clocks change in Cairo?
In 2026, clocks in Cairo go forward on April 24, 2026 and back on October 29, 2026. Between those dates the gap from India is 2 hours and 30 minutes; outside them it is 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Why does the IST–Cairo difference change during the year?
Because Cairo switches between EET (UTC+2:00) and EEST (UTC+3:00) for daylight saving, while the other side does not move. A converter that assumes one fixed gap will be an hour wrong for roughly half the year.
Do IST and Cairo share the same working week?
IST works Monday to Friday while Cairo works Sunday to Thursday, so you share 4 working days a week — Monday to Thursday. Friday is a normal working day in IST but a weekend in Cairo. Sunday is worked in Cairo while IST is off. The weekend here falls on Friday and Saturday, so Sunday is a normal working day and Friday is not. Against an Indian Monday-to-Friday week that leaves four shared working days, not five.
How many hours a week do IST and Cairo actually overlap?
24 hours across the week, spread over 4 working days. 1 PM IST (10:30 AM Cairo) is the slot that works on the most days, so it is the one to put in a recurring invite.
Do public holidays in IST and Cairo line up?
Barely. Over the next eight weeks the two sides share 32 working days, and 2 of those are a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 30. The next holiday in Cairo is Armed Forces Day (عيد القوات المسلحة) on 2026-10-06. Indian, Gulf and Western holiday calendars are built on different systems, so the days each side loses rarely coincide.
Is IST ahead of Cairo?
Yes. IST runs ahead of Cairo — by 2 hours and 30 minutes or 3 hours and 30 minutes depending on the season, so a working morning in IST lands the previous evening or night in Cairo.
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