Move aside, India is all set to launch its desi GPS service and it might be more accurate

• NavIC, the Indian GPS, to be launched soon and will work with the help of a constellation of seven satellites to provide accurate position information to users within the country.
  
• The desi GPS is expected to work better because a larger number of satellites will be focusing on a smaller area.
  
• The CAG Report states NavIC’s delays and money overruns .
  

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System’s (IRNSS) project of an indigenous GPS, sanctioned by the Indian government in 2006, is finally near its completion. The NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) is all set to be launched soon. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has taken the lead in this project.

The ‘desi’ Global Positioning System, or the GPS as it is better known, is an attempt to challenge the GPS made by the West and also become self-reliant when it comes to tracking and mapping. India took up this project after the US government denied access to its GPS to track the positioning of Pakistani troops during the Kargil War in 1999.

NavIC will work with the help of a constellation of seven satellites to provide accurate position information to users within the country. The satellites cover India and upto 1,500 kilometres of area from its borders. The NavIC will be helpful with terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet management, disaster management, mapping and geodetic data capture, visual and voice navigation for drivers.

To access all these services, the NavlC needs to be embedded in chips and other devices that are compatible with mobiles and can be used in cars. While it sounds like a great option to generate money by going the ‘Make in India’ way, IT secretary, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, has said that the NavIC will be providing these services for the strategic interest of the country and not to earn revenues.

The GPS we use in the country right now comes from the West and its accuracy, efficiency is often debatable and reliant on the network services in the country. The desi GPS is expected to work better because a larger number of satellites will be focusing on a smaller area. It is also expected to work better across weather conditions as it uses a dual frequency system and has a position accuracy of five metres as opposed to the foreign GPS technology that uses single frequency and has 20-30 metres of position accuracy.

The project, when approved, was given a budget of ₹14.2 billion and was expected to be out by 2011. It is clear that the project has failed to meet deadlines, but there’s a reason for it all. An audit done this March by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the authority that examines all receipts and expenditures of the Government of India and the state governments, explains the delay.

The CAG report states that there has been a delay of anything between two to nine years in the completion of specific contracts given to ISRO for NavIC. Seven contracts were still pending till last May. Though ISRO can not be blamed for all the delays, most of them were because of inadequate follow-up, failed coordination or mere “administrative laxity”.

Failed satellite launches and dysfunctional equipment like atomic and primary clocks has further added to NavlC’s delay.

So far, ISRO has spent over ₹24 billion on NavIC - ₹12.8 billion from sanctioned budget, and a supplementary ₹11.6 billion to launch the seven satellites. There has been a lot of “unnecessary expenditure”, according to the CAG audit, which even includes the purchase of incompatible modems. The project had also been at odds with the government when it refused to carry out some responsibilities it took funds for, like setting up the user segment.

However, despite these challenges, all that NavIC now awaits is the Request for Proposal (RPF) that has been called for so as it can begin with the implementation, launch and promotion. Once that is done, India will become one of the countries with their own positioning system like, Russia and USA, strengthening its social and technological position worldwide.