The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to expand the coverage of NaVIC, India's very own regional navigation satellite system. The expanded reach will cover a vast 3,000 km beyond the existing coverage of 1,500 km from India's boundaries, as informed by ISRO chairman S. Somanath. 

The plan was announced by the chairman at the CSIR Foundation Day event at Bharat Mandapam. Once the project achieves its goal, our regional navigation system will be fully functional not only within our country but also in neighboring SAARC nations. 

About NaVIC 

  • NaVIC operates with a core constellation of seven satellites and an extensive network of ground stations that work round the clock.
  • Three of these satellites are placed in the geostationary orbit at coordinates 32.5°E, 83°E and 129.5°E respectively.
  • The other four satellites operate from an inclined geosynchronous orbit crossing the equator at 55°E and 111.75°E, with a tilt of 29°.

Furthermore, the ground network consists of command centers, precise timing facilities, range and integrity monitoring stations, and dual-way ranging stations. To extend this vast network, newly-launched navigation satellites will be required to amplify the coverage of NaVIC. 

NaVIC's Usage and Functionality 

As of now, NaVIC system's use falls under two key categories: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian use, and Restricted Service (RS) employed by strategic entities like security agencies and armed forces. 

NaVIC is critical to India's long-term security and economic growth and supports diverse sectors such as power grid syncing, public transport safety, live train information systems, fishermen's safety, and missile navigation. Moreover, ISRO is seeking to expand the existing civilian applications of NaVIC for drone navigation, Aadhaar enrollment, geodetic networks, Indian standard time dissemination, emergency warning systems, and GNSS-based e-tolling systems. 

Designed to deliver optimal user position accuracy (better than 20m) and superior timing accuracy (better than 50ns), NaVIC SPS signals can work in tandem with other global navigation satellite systems, namely GPS (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (Europe), and Beidou (China). 

"ISRO is constantly striving to expand and improve India's navigation coverage with additional satellites. The aim is to upgrade the present 1,500 km coverage to a comprehensive 3,000 km beyond India for an inclusive and accurate navigational offering to our people," - Chairman S. Somanath.

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