Made-in-India GPS in your Smartphones?

Google maps are one of the most popular apps in your smartphones. Many of us are dependent on it in our day-to-day lives for navigating. But, do you know that it is not the only satellite navigation system available. Russia has got GLONASS, the European Union has got Galileo and China has got BDS navigation systems. These are the in-built navigation systems for these nations.

The Indian version of GPS called Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) was developed by ISRO and launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. ISRO now wants this made-in-India GPS to be integrated into smartphones.

ISRO chairman K Sivan confirmed that the agency is in talks with two big chipset makers, US-based Qualcomm and Singapore’s Broadcom, to integrate cell phones with NavIC.

The need to have an Indian version of satellite navigating system was first felt in 1999 during the Kargil War. At that time US had refused to provide GPS information of Pakistani troops in India. It looks like, now after two decades, this can become a reality.