Across the world, perceptions of time vary widely by culture. In Japan , where being on time is of utmost importance, punctuality is referred to as jikangenshu – which loosely translates as “strictly defending time”. But over in Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Indonesia , time is viewed as a flexible commodity, and is often referred to as being “elastic” or “rubber”. And in India , a nation famous for its lax attitude towards punctuality, “Indian Standard Time” is a standard tongue-in-cheek excuse for being late to any event. Why is Japan so obsessed with being on time? One of the best examples of Indian Standard Time, or IST, can be seen in the country’s expansive railway system. Made up of more than 7,349 stations, and servicing more than 8 billion passengers a year, India’s rail system is among the busiest in world. Unfortunately, it’s also among the most inefficient and is notorious for hours-long delays and slow customer service. In 2018, in the World Economic Forum’s ranking on train efficiency, it was a full 24 places behind Japan, which took second behind Switzerland. But even that ranking looks flattering when you consider the New Jalpaiguri Express (NJP), which is infamous for tardiness. The train, which departs from New Delhi and takes travellers as far as New Jalpaiguri, took the dubious honour of being India’s most delayed train in the last half of 2018. According to the local press, it is on average 20 hours behind schedule. Social media is full of less than glowing reviews of the NJP. “It’s actually three hours delayed now. Halting at every station. Unable to understand why you call it an express when it’s running like a local train,” said Twitter user Arnab Roy in a complaint aimed at Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. Rail firm apologises after a train departs 20 seconds early India’s culture of tardiness extends beyond its late-running trains, and has a very real economic impact, according to Monica Verma, a former journalist and researcher specialising in the South Asian political economy at South Asian University in New Delhi. “The problem of tardiness definitely affects Indian growth where the bureaucratic delays and red tape-ism affect project delivery and execution,” she said. A train started 7 hours late from New Jalpaiguri Railway Station named NJP UDZ express running more & more late on the way seems that no responsibility for the passengers near railway department — NALINEEKANTA MISHRA (@NalineekantaA) December 24, 2018 <!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- //--><!]]> “Tardiness is a huge complaint that the private sector often has about the attitude of the administration. India is poorly linked with global value chains for the same reason.” But as the old saying goes, time heals everything, and Verma has noticed a huge generational shift in how lateness is perceived in the country, with younger generations being increasingly conscious of the need for punctuality. “India’s own entrepreneurs find it difficult to do business because of bureaucratic delays,” she said. “There have been improvements. But much needs to be done.” ■ Crystal Ta i