Why the prime meridian of India is 82.30 degrees east?

Answer 1

The longitudinal extent of India is 30 degrees. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It takes 4minutes for the sun to move across 1 longitude. Thus the eastern most point of India would be 2 hours ahead of the western most point (30X4=120 minutes) , in accordance with the local time. This difference in time might create confusion in air and rail timings and so many other things across the two states. To avoid this confusion a longitude passing through the mid point of 68 degrees 7 minutes (western most longitude) and 97 degrees 25 minutes (eastern most longitude) is taken as the standard prime meridian ofIndia. The time at the standard meridian 82 degrees 30 minutes which passes through Mirzapur in UP is taken as the standard time of India , followed all over the country.

Answer 2

The longitudinal extent of India is 30 degrees. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It takes 4minutes for the sun to move across 1 longitude. Thus the eastern most point of India would be 2 hours ahead of the western most point (30X4=120 minutes) , in accordance with the local time. This difference in time might create a lot of confusion in air, rail timings and so many other things. To avoid this confusion a longitude passing through the mid point of 68 degrees 7 minutes (western most longitude) and 97 degrees 25 minutes (eastern most longitude) is taken as the standard prime meridian ofIndia. The time at the standard meridian 82 degrees 30 minutes which passes through Mirzapur in UP is taken as the standard time of India , followed all over the country.

Answer 3

The Prime Meridian of India was chosen to be at 82.5 degrees east longitude to make it more relevant to the country, passing through the city of Allahabad. This location was selected by Sir George Airy in 1851 to establish a standard reference point for Indian maps and surveys.