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Explainer: NavIC, India's home-grown alternative to the GPS system

NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is an independent stand-alone navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

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NavIC was originally approved in 2006 at a cost of $174 million. It was expected to be completed by late 2011, but only became operational in 2018 | Photo: Oppo

Munsif Vengattil Aditya Kalra New Delhi

3 min read Last Updated : Sep 27 2022 | 10:07 AM IST

The Indian government is pushing smartphone makers to enable support for its NavIC navigation system in new devices sold in the country from next year, a move that has spooked the industry due to additional costs and tight time frame.

Below are the details of NavIC's inception, why India wants smartphone makers to adopt it and how the system compares to other global or regional navigation systems.

WHAT IS NavIC?

NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is an independent stand-alone navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

NavIC was originally approved in 2006 at a cost

Topics : Isro's NavIC an alternative to America's GPS Isro NavIC Indian Space Research Organisation Navigation satellite

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