Which meridian is taken as a standard meridian for India and why?

Ans. In India, 82^° 30É is taken as a standard meridian because for every 1^° longitude time difference is 4 minutes. India’s total longitudinal extent is 30^° (97⁰E-67⁰E=30⁰E). So, total time difference is 30*4=120 minutes or 2 hours that means the time difference between Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh would be 2 hrs. To avoid such confusion and to have same time all over the country, we have taken a standard meridian.