IST to Chicago
India is 10 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Chicago.
Times may vary due to daylight saving time.Quick answer. Chicago is 11 hours and 30 minutes behind IST for part of the year and 10 hours and 30 minutes behind for the rest, because Chicago observes daylight saving time and the other side does not. The gap is 11 hours and 30 minutes during Chicago's standard-time months and 10 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.
Chicago, United States
CST UTC-6:00 CDT UTC-5:00 Observes DST
Chicago and the rest of the United States.
- ↑ March 8, 2026 clocks forward at 3:00 AM · UTC-6:00 → UTC-5:00
- ↓ November 1, 2026 clocks back at 1:00 AM · UTC-5:00 → UTC-6:00
IST to Chicago conversion table
Every hour of the day for 2026. Because Chicago 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 | Chicago | 24-hour |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 1:30 PM −1 day | 13:30 |
| 1 AM | 2:30 PM −1 day | 14:30 |
| 2 AM | 3:30 PM −1 day | 15:30 |
| 3 AM | 4:30 PM −1 day | 16:30 |
| 4 AM | 5:30 PM −1 day | 17:30 |
| 5 AM | 6:30 PM −1 day | 18:30 |
| 6 AM | 7:30 PM −1 day | 19:30 |
| 7 AM | 8:30 PM −1 day | 20:30 |
| 8 AM | 9:30 PM −1 day | 21:30 |
| 9 AM | 10:30 PM −1 day | 22:30 |
| 10 AM | 11:30 PM −1 day | 23:30 |
| 11 AM | 12:30 AM | 00:30 |
| 12 PM | 1:30 AM | 01:30 |
| 1 PM | 2:30 AM | 02:30 |
| 2 PM | 3:30 AM | 03:30 |
| 3 PM | 4:30 AM | 04:30 |
| 4 PM | 5:30 AM | 05:30 |
| 5 PM | 6:30 AM | 06:30 |
| 6 PM | 7:30 AM | 07:30 |
| 7 PM | 8:30 AM | 08:30 |
| 8 PM | 9:30 AM | 09:30 |
| 9 PM | 10:30 AM | 10:30 |
| 10 PM | 11:30 AM | 11:30 |
| 11 PM | 12:30 PM | 12:30 |
No row is highlighted because a standard 9–6 day in IST never overlaps a 9–5 day in Chicago — see the meeting section below for the closest workable slots.
Popular conversion times
| IST | Chicago |
|---|---|
| 9 AM IST | 10:30 PM−1 day |
| 10 AM IST | 11:30 PM−1 day |
| 11 AM IST | 12:30 AM |
| 12 PM IST | 1:30 AM |
| 3 PM IST | 4:30 AM |
| 5 PM IST | 6:30 AM |
| 6 PM IST | 7:30 AM |
| 8 PM IST | 9:30 AM |
Business hours and meeting times
Comparing a 9:00–18:00 working day in IST against 9:00–17:00 in Chicago, across the whole week — a slot only counts if it lands on a working day at both ends.
Both sides work Monday to Friday, so the working weeks line up and you share 5 days.
Rows are days in IST. Columns are hours of the IST day.
No standard overlap
A 9–6 day in IST never meets a 9–5 day in Chicago on any day of the week, so one side has to move outside normal hours. Ranked by how far outside:
- 5 PM IST = 6:30 AM Chicago — well outside normal hours — 2 hours and 30 minutes beyond
- 4 PM IST = 5:30 AM Chicago — well outside normal hours — 3 hours and 30 minutes beyond
- 3 PM IST = 4:30 AM Chicago — well outside normal hours — 4 hours and 30 minutes beyond
These hold on every shared working day (5 a week). Teams working this gap regularly tend to alternate which side takes the early or late call, and keep the synchronous meeting short.
Public holidays
A shared working day is only usable if neither side is on holiday — and India and Chicago build their calendars on different systems, so the days each loses rarely coincide.
Over the next 8 weeks you share 40 working days. 3are lost to a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 37.
| Date | Who is off | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, October 2, 2026 | India | Gandhi Jayanti |
| Monday, October 12, 2026 | Chicago | Columbus Day |
| 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 Chicago
- Monday, October 12, 2026Columbus Daypublished date
- Wednesday, November 11, 2026Veterans Daypublished date
- Thursday, November 26, 2026Thanksgiving Daypublished date
- Friday, December 25, 2026Christmas Daypublished date
- Friday, January 1, 2027New Year's Daypublished date
Public holidays as published by https://date.nager.at, covering 2026–2028. Regional and employer-specific days are not included.
Holiday dates for Chicago 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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between IST and Chicago?
It depends on the date. Chicago is 11 hours and 30 minutes behind IST in January and 10 hours and 30 minutes behind in July, because Chicago changes clocks for daylight saving time. Use the converter above with the date you actually need.
What time is 9 AM IST in Chicago?
9:00 AM IST is 9:30 PM the previous day in Chicago during CST, and 10:30 PM the previous day during CDT. 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 Chicago?
Standard working days do not overlap at all in this pair, so somebody has to stretch. The closest slot is 5 PM IST / 6:30 AM Chicago — it well outside normal hours — 2 hours and 30 minutes beyond. Teams that meet regularly across this gap usually alternate who takes the awkward end.
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 Chicago comes entirely from the other side.
When do the clocks change in Chicago?
In 2026, clocks in Chicago go forward on March 8, 2026 and back on November 1, 2026. Between those dates the gap from India is 10 hours and 30 minutes; outside them it is 11 hours and 30 minutes.
Why does the IST–Chicago difference change during the year?
Because Chicago switches between CST (UTC-6:00) and CDT (UTC-5:00) 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.
How many hours a week do IST and Chicago actually overlap?
None at standard hours. A 9–6 day in IST does not meet a 9–5 day in Chicago on any day of the week, so a recurring call means one side works early or late — the section above ranks the least disruptive options.
Do public holidays in IST and Chicago line up?
Barely. Over the next eight weeks the two sides share 40 working days, and 3 of those are a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 37. The next holiday in Chicago is Columbus Day on 2026-10-12. Indian, Gulf and Western holiday calendars are built on different systems, so the days each side loses rarely coincide.
Is IST ahead of Chicago?
Yes. IST runs ahead of Chicago — by 10 hours and 30 minutes or 11 hours and 30 minutes depending on the season, so a working morning in IST lands the previous evening or night in Chicago.
Converting the other way
Looking up times starting from Chicago? Use the Chicago to IST converter, which leads with Chicago as the starting point and is written for that reader.
Other cities in United States
- IST to New York · United States
- IST to Los Angeles · United States
- IST to Dallas · United States
- IST to Houston · United States
- IST to Washington DC · United States
- IST to Atlanta · United States
- IST to Boston · United States
- IST to Phoenix · United States
Cities on the same clock as Chicago
These keep an identical offset, so every conversion on this page applies to them too.
- IST to Minneapolis · same clock
- IST to Austin · same clock
Related converters
- IST to EST · Eastern Time
- IST to CST · Central Time
- IST to PST · Pacific Time
- IST to UTC · Coordinated Universal Time
- IST to GMT · Greenwich Mean Time
- IST to CET · Central European Time
- IST to GST · Gulf Standard Time
- IST to MST · Mountain Time
All cities in United States: IST to United States. Scheduling repeatedly? Best Meeting Times: India and the USA compares several cities at once.