NavIC, India’s version of GPS

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

To promote the use of ‘NAVigation with the Indian Constellation’ (NavIC), the Indian version of GPS, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will introduce the L1 frequency in all its future satellites.

• The next satellites, starting from NVS-01 onwards, will have an L1 band for civilian navigational use.

What is NavIC?

• NavIC is India’s homegrown alternative to GPS. Developed by ISRO, the navigation satellite system was first approved in 2006 at a cost of $174 million, but became operational only by 2018. 
• At present, it consists of eight satellites, covering the whole of India and up to 1,500 km from its boundaries.
• The government has said NavIC is as accurate as GPS. The “performance of NavIC system is on par with the other positioning systems”.
• The seven satellites in the NavIC constellation so far use two frequencies for providing positioning data — the L5 and S bands. 
• The new satellites NVS-01 onwards, meant to replace these satellites, will also have L1 frequency. 
• The L1 is the oldest and most established GPS signals, which even the less sophisticated, civilian-use devices such as smartwatches are capable of receiving. 
• Thus, with this band, the use of NavIC in civilian-use gadgets can go up.
• GPS satellites generally transmit on two frequencies—L1 (42 MHz) and L2 (1227.60 MHz).

Use of NavIC

• NavIC is mainly being used in public vehicle tracking, to provide emergency warning alerts to fishermen venturing into the deep sea, and for tracking data related to natural disasters.
• The government is also pushing for its increased use in smartphones.

Advantages of NavIC

• NavIC, since it is homegrown, will be more accurate than other systems.
• With a fully operational constellation and ground stations outside of India — ISRO plans to set up ground stations in Japan and France to better triangulate the entire area under NavIC coverage – 
• The system is likely to become more accurate than GPS. 
• The satellites placed directly over India also ensure better availability of signals in varied geographical regions compared to GPS, which India receives at an angle, making it difficult to access in dense forests or valleys.

Other navigation systems:

• Galileo – European Union
• GLONASS – Russia
• China’s – Beidou
• QZSS – Japan

Question: Discuss the features of NavIC, India’s version of GPS. What are its advantages?