The Department of Space (DoS) told the Parliamentary Committee on Science that Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) would soon be integrated into Aadhaar enrollment devices. Responding to the questions of the committee, the Department of Space said that the department has successfully operated it in field testing, and this work is going on on technical equipment. Explain that currently the Aadhaar Enrollment Kits that are used to collect and verify personal details are linked to the US Global Positioning System.

Aadhaar enrollment kit to be equipped with NavIC
Currently, Aadhaar Enrollment Kit has Joined US Navigation GPS. However, soon NavIC will be used instead. The government is working with NAVIC to promote indigenous technology. In this direction, the Department of Space has tested it with the Aadhaar Enrollment Kit.

Explain that NavIC provides two services. One is Standard Position Service (SPS) and the other is Restricted Service (RS). Both these services are provided in both L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S-band (2498.028 MHz). The NavIC coverage area includes India and an area up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian border. The new satellites will have an additional band called L1 which will be used for civilian use.

NavIC is being used here
The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) is already taking the help of NAVIC to issue information and warnings of major natural disasters like landslides, earthquakes, floods, and avalanches. Apart from this, the Indian National Center for Ocean Information System (INCOIS) is also using it. With its help, warnings related to cyclones, high waves and tsunamis are issued to fishermen going to deep sea.

The central government is also working towards equipping the navigator with a smartphone. Recently the government has also mandated cell phone manufacturers in India to make their devices NavIC compatible. The DoS told a parliamentary committee that the industry has already expressed its willingness to incorporate NavIC in 5G handsets.

What is a navigator?
NAVIC is a satellite-based navigation technology, similar to the American GPS. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have jointly built it. It is providing accurate real-time location and time services in India and around an area of about 1500 km around the Indian mainland.

(pc amarujala)