When it is 09:00 in Chicago it is 20:30 in New Delhi in January and 19:30 in July. New Delhi is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead Chicago right now — but it is not constant: the difference is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead in January and 10 hours 30 minutes ahead in July. This page gives the live times in both cities, the overlap between their working days, the daylight saving dates that move the difference, and the best meeting windows.

Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between Chicago and New Delhi, with the offset for the date you pick.

Live times in Chicago and New Delhi

The two cities side by side. The January column uses the winter offsets (Chicago UTC−06:00, New Delhi UTC+05:30); the July column uses the summer offsets (Chicago UTC−05:00, New Delhi UTC+05:30).

Time in Chicago New Delhi in January New Delhi in July
00:00 11:30 10:30
06:00 17:30 16:30
09:00 20:30 19:30
12:00 23:30 22:30
15:00 02:30 01:30
17:00 04:30 03:30
21:00 08:30 07:30

The world clock shows the current time in both cities live, and the individual city pages — time in Chicago and time in New Delhi — explain each city's time zone, offsets and daylight saving in full.

The time difference between Chicago and New Delhi

The difference is not constant. In January New Delhi is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead Chicago; in July it is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead Chicago. The difference changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 (from 11 hours 30 minutes ahead to 10 hours 30 minutes ahead) and Sunday, 1 November 2026 (from 10 hours 30 minutes ahead to 11 hours 30 minutes ahead) — those are the dates when one of the two cities changes its clocks and the other does not, or when they change on different days. Between those dates the difference is one value; outside them it is the other.

To convert a time, add the difference: 09:00 in Chicago is 20:30 in New Delhi in January and 19:30 in July; 17:00 in Chicago — the end of the working day — is 04:30 in New Delhi in January and 03:30 in July. To go the other way, subtract it: 09:00 in New Delhi is 21:30 in Chicago in January. The time difference calculator does the arithmetic for any date, and the UTC to New Delhi page gives the full conversion table for New Delhi.

Meeting overlap between Chicago and New Delhi

The overlap is the hours when both cities are in their working day (09:00–17:00 local time). The table marks the overlapping hours in Chicago's working day and shows what time they are in New Delhi.

January

Chicago time New Delhi time Both working?
09:00 20:30 No
10:00 21:30 No
11:00 22:30 No
12:00 23:30 No
13:00 00:30 No
14:00 01:30 No
15:00 02:30 Yes
16:00 03:30 Yes

July

Chicago time New Delhi time Both working?
09:00 19:30 Yes
10:00 20:30 Yes
11:00 21:30 No
12:00 22:30 No
13:00 23:30 No
14:00 00:30 No
15:00 01:30 No
16:00 02:30 No

In January the overlap is 2 hours: 15:00, 16:00 Chicago time. In July it is 2 hours: 09:00, 10:00 Chicago time. The meeting planner finds the overlap for any two cities and any date, and the meeting time finder finds it for a whole team.

Daylight saving in Chicago and New Delhi

Chicago observes daylight saving: in 2026 the clocks go forward on 8 March 2026 and back on 1 November 2026, moving the offset from UTC−06:00 to UTC−05:00.

New Delhi does not observe daylight saving, so its offset of UTC+05:30 never changes.

The difference changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 and Sunday, 1 November 2026 in 2026. On those dates, one city changes its clocks and the other does not — or they change on different days — so the difference moves by an hour. A standing meeting set in one city's local time will land an hour early or late on the other side until the second city catches up. The fix is to set the calendar event in UTC, or to check the overlap again after each change. The individual DST pages — Chicago DST 2026 and New Delhi DST 2026 — give the exact dates for each city.

Best meeting windows

The best windows in January are 15:00–17:00 in Chicago (02:30–04:30 in New Delhi). These are the hours inside both working days, so nobody is up early or late. It is a short window, so keep the meeting short and send an agenda in advance.

In July the best windows are 09:00–11:00 in Chicago (19:30–21:30 in New Delhi) — the same logic, with the July offsets.

Calling and travel notes

When it is 09:00 in Chicago it is 20:30 in New Delhi in January; when it is 12:00 in Chicago it is 23:30 in New Delhi; when it is 17:00 in Chicago it is 04:30 in New Delhi. The difference is under 12 hours, so the two cities are usually on the same date — but check the date for late-evening and early-morning times, when the date can differ by a day. Scheduling between the Americas and Asia is the hardest case in time-zone work: the difference is 12 hours or more, so one side's working day is the other's night. The only workable approach is to meet at the edge of the day — early morning in Chicago and evening in New Delhi, or the reverse — and to keep the meeting short. Rotate the awkward hour week by week, or the same side will always be the one giving up its evening. Record the meeting and share notes, so the side that could not attend can still follow the decision.

Worked conversions

Six conversions, for January (offsets Chicago UTC−06:00, New Delhi UTC+05:30):

Chicago New Delhi
08:00 19:30
09:00 20:30
12:00 23:30
14:00 01:30
17:00 04:30
20:00 07:30

In July, add 1 hour to each New Delhi time. For the reverse direction, see New Delhi to Chicago time.

Chicago and New Delhi at a glance

Fact Chicago New Delhi
Country United States India
Region Americas Asia
IANA time zone America/Chicago Asia/Kolkata
Standard offset UTC−06:00 UTC+05:30
Daylight saving offset UTC−05:00 — does not observe
Offset in January 2026 UTC−06:00 UTC+05:30
Offset in July 2026 UTC−05:00 UTC+05:30
Observes daylight saving Yes No

The table is the whole pair in one place. The two numbers that matter most are the January and July offsets: if they are the same in both columns for a city, that city's offset never changes; if they differ, the city observes daylight saving and the difference between the cities moves with it. The individual city pages — time in Chicago and time in New Delhi — explain each city's time zone, and the DST pages — Chicago DST 2026 and New Delhi DST 2026 — give the exact change dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the time difference between Chicago and New Delhi?

New Delhi is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead Chicago right now. In January the difference is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead and in July it is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead — it changes with daylight saving.

How do I schedule a recurring meeting between Chicago and New Delhi?

Pick a time inside the overlap — 15:00–17:00 Chicago time — and set the calendar event in UTC so it moves correctly when the clocks change. Re-check the overlap in March and October, when the difference moves, and rotate the time if the meeting falls outside someone's working day.

What time is it in New Delhi when it is 09:00 in Chicago?

It is 20:30 in January and 19:30 in July. The time zone converter gives the answer for any date.

What is the best time for a meeting between Chicago and New Delhi?

The best windows in January are 15:00–17:00 Chicago time — inside both working days. In July the windows are 09:00–11:00 Chicago time.

Does the time difference between Chicago and New Delhi change during the year?

Yes. It changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 and Sunday, 1 November 2026 in 2026, when one city changes its clocks and the other does not.

What time is it in Chicago when it is 09:00 in New Delhi?

It is 21:30 in January and 22:30 in July. See New Delhi to Chicago time for the full comparison from New Delhi's side.

What are the time zones of Chicago and New Delhi?

Chicago is in America/Chicago (UTC−06:00 standard time) and New Delhi is in Asia/Kolkata (UTC+05:30 standard time).

What time is it in Chicago when it is midnight in New Delhi?

It is 12:30 in Chicago in January and 13:30 in July — the same day, because Chicago is ahead of New Delhi. Midnight conversions are the ones that most often land on the wrong date, so always check the date as well as the time.

Sources

  • IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (Intl.DateTimeFormat with timeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory.
  • TimeFlow's own time-zone data (data/cities.ts, data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database.
  • TimeFlow's time zone converter and meeting planner — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
  • Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.