In News:

• India is pushing tech giants to make smartphones compatible with the indigenous navigation system within months.

What’s in today’s article:

• News Summary
• About NavIC (Background, Components, Benefits, Comparison, etc.)

News Summary:

• Government of India wants to reduce dependence on foreign systems, including the widely used U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
• Hence, it has asked the smartphone manufacturing firms to make smartphones compatible with the NavIC.
• However, companies like Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple fear elevated costs and disruptions as the move will require hardware changes.
• The Government says NavIC provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit India’s economy.

About NavIC:

• NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is also called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).
  • With the last launch of the constellation's satellite (IRNSS-1G), IRNSS was renamed NaVIC by India’s Prime Minister
• It is an independent stand-alone navigation satellite system which Presently comprises of 8 satellites.
  • Presently, IRNSS consists of eight satellites, three satellites in geostationary orbit and five satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
  • IRNSS-1I to replace IRNSS-1A, which was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed.
• It is developed by the ISRO. NavIC was approved in 2006.
• It was expected to be completed by late 2011, but it only became operational in 2018.
• NavIC covers the whole of India’s landmass and up to 1,500 km from its boundaries.
• It was recognised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean Region in 2020.

Benefits:

• Currently, NavIC is being used in –
  • Public vehicle tracking in India,
  • For providing emergency warning alerts to fishermen venturing into the deep sea where there is no terrestrial network connectivity, and
  • For tracking and providing information related to natural disasters.
• Enabling it in smartphones is the next step India is pushing for.

Other Navigation Systems:

• The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force.
• The main difference between GPS and NavIC is the serviceable area covered by these systems.
  • GPS caters to users across the globe and its satellites circle the earth twice a day, while NavIC is currently for use in India and adjacent areas.
• Like GPS, there are four more navigation systems that have global coverage –
  • Galileo from the European Union,
  • QZSS(Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) by Japan,
  • Russia-owned GLONASS and
  • Beidou from China.

Why is India promoting NavIC?

• India says NavIC is conceived with the aim of removing dependence on foreign satellite systems for navigation service requirements, particularly for “strategic sectors.”
• Relying on systems like GPS and GLONASS may not always be reliable as those are operated by the defence agencies of respective nations and it is possible that civilian services can be degraded or denied.
• India also wants to encourage its ministries to use NavIC applications to promote local industry engaged in developing indigenous NavIC-based solutions.