Understanding NavIC: ISRO’s Navigation System Potentially Mandatory for Smartphones

The Indian government is contemplating a mandatory inclusion of NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, a standalone satellite navigation system similar to GPS, in smartphones released in the country. This move follows the recent addition of NavIC in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max as a result of the new Apple A17 Pro CPU. This marks the first instance of Apple extending support for NavIC to its iPhone models.

All You Need to Know about NavIC

NavIC was created by the ISRO and consists of a constellation of seven satellites and a network of ground stations that operate around the clock. Along with their three geostationary orbits, these satellites also have four inclined geosynchronous orbits. Presently, NavIC’s coverage encompasses India and extends approximately 1,500 km beyond its borders. NavIC signals are interoperable with signals from other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), including GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and BeiDou. Glonass is Russia’s system, Galileo is operated by the European Union, and BeiDou is China’s.

Characterizing the inclusion of NavIC in iPhones as a significant achievement, the government is considering making it standard practice for all devices employing GPS technology to incorporate NavIC-powered chipsets. Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, emphasized this intention, stating, “We’re planning to make it a standard practice that all devices using GPS technology should have NAVIC-powered chipsets or NAVIC chips inside. When you look at the IT PLI scheme this time, it includes incentives for system designers and manufacturers who incorporate Indian-designed chips into their products.”

The value of NavIC and its commitment to technological improvement was highlighted in India’s new satellite navigation policy until 2021. The government has stated its goal to broaden NavIC’s coverage from regional to global. NavIC is important for India since it aspires to reduce that nation’s reliance on GPS and other global navigation systems provided by other nations.

During the Kargil war in 1999, the United States, which owns and manages GPS, prevented India from using the technology, creating challenges in identifying the positions of Pakistani troops. Additionally, NavIC employs dual bands to enhance accuracy and positioning, with ISRO expecting it to offer a positional accuracy of 5 meters, compared to the 20 to 30 meters provided by GPS.