 "Govt considering making NavIC mandatory: Everything you need to know")
The government is likely to make Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) support mandatory for smartphones sold in India. Minister of State for Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrashekhar has said that all 5G phones would be required to support NavIC by January 1, 2025, The Indian Express (IE) has reported. Earlier, the government had already convinced Apple to support NavIC in some new iPhone 15 models.
"In line with the incentives that we have announced under the IT hardware production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, where cashback to companies can significantly go up if they use India-designed or -manufactured chips in their systems, we will extend the same idea to the smartphone PLI as well for using domestic chips that support NavIC," Chandrasekhar was quoted in the report.
What is NavIC?
Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), NavIC is an independent navigation satellite system. It consists of eight satellites which cover the entire territory of India. It also covers up to 1,500 km from its boundaries.
When was NavIC started?
Originally, it was approved in 2006 with a $174 million budget. The NavIC project was expected to be completed by the end of 2011. However, NavIC became operational only in 2018.
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Uses of NavIC
Currently, NavIC is being used to track public vehicles in India. It is also used to send emergency warning alerts to fishermen sailing into the sea where there is little or no terrestrial network connectivity. It is also being used to provide information on natural disasters. The government has been pushing smartphone companies to adopt NavIC in India.
NavIC, GPS, and others
Global Positioning System (GPS) provides global coverage. However, NavIC is limited to India and its adjacent territories. Three other navigation systems across the world provide global coverage like GPS. These are Galileo from the European Union (EU), GLOSNASS from Russia, and Beidou of China.
Other than these, Japan's QZSS covers Asia-Pacific with a special focus on Japan.
Why is the government pushing for NavIC?
The government wants to eliminate reliance on foreign navigational technologies and replace it with India's own. The issue assumes even greater significance when it comes to strategic sectors. The government is of the view that depending on GPS and similar foreign navigation systems may not be wise for India as defence agencies of their respective countries operate them.
"NavIC is an indigenous positioning system that is under Indian control. There is no risk of the service being withdrawn or denied in a given situation," the government said in 2021. NavIC is "as good as GPS of the United States of America when it comes to positional accuracy", the government had said.