Make IRNSS India's primary navigation system: Scientific adviser to Defence Minister

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) should be made India’s primary navigation system, said a top scientist on Thursday. “Once the seven satellites (Of IRNSS) are in place by March 31, (2016), the most important thing becomes the user segment and the receiver development for various applications,” said G. Satheesh Reddy, scientific adviser to the defence minister, at the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) User Meet 2015 organized by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India. “We have to keep one thing in mind, we always have GPS and GLONASS which are available worldwide… we need to compete with them in commercialization,” he added. Reddy said that every Indian cell phone buyer must ask for IRNSS in his phone and even if five percent phone buyers get it, it would give a great fillip to the indigenous navigation system. ISRO scientists said that IRNSS is a better navigation system than GPS with precision time and location data. Like GPS, IRNSS too can find extensive use in many applications like car navigation, aircraft, smartphones and others, said Reddy, urging Indian industry to widely incorporate IRNSS navigation system into their manufacturing. “The industry has to play a very important role in seeing that we are able to manufacture our own receivers here which are able to incorporate IRNSS receiver into their systems or whichever (instruments and machines) are coming from abroad or manufactured abroad and brought here (should have IRNSS),” he added. He highlighted that IRNSS simulator and receivers must be developed at a very very low cost to empower IRNSS to compete with the GPS market and enable mass adoption. Reddy also advised ISRO to manufacture its chipsets at the lowest possible cost for great commercial success of IRNSS and GAGAN. Lauding GAGAN and IRNSS, he said both Indian developed technological systems have innumerable uses in the defence sector. “In the times when we need the signal.. our signal which is available to us is what makes the difference,” said Reddy. He said IRNSS signals, data and positioning are reasonably good and meet the necessary navigation requirement of the armed forces. IANS