What is Timezone?

A timezone defines the local date and time for a geographic region and provides context about where that date and time apply. The same moment in time can appear as different local times depending on where it is viewed.

Example: Same transaction, different local times

A single transaction occurs at one exact moment, but it appears differently depending on the local timezone.

For example, a transaction that occurs at 17:00 in Singapore (SGT) appears as:

• 14:30 in India

• 09:00 in London

Although the clock time differs, all these times represent the same transaction. The difference exists because each region follows its own local time.

Introducing a common reference time

To handle time consistently across regions, a common reference time was established, called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

With UTC as the reference, regional times are defined relative to it. Each region expresses its local time as a fixed number of hours ahead of or behind UTC.

For example:

• India is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC (+05:30)
• Singapore is 8 hours ahead of UTC (+08:00)
• London uses UTC itself (+00:00)

Using this reference, the same transaction can be written as:

2025-12-16T09:00:00+00:00

That same moment appears as:

• 2025-12-16T14:30:00+05:30 in India
• 2025-12-16T17:00:00+08:00 in Singapore
• 2025-12-16T09:00:00+00:00 in London