The government says India’s NavIC satellite navigation system is as good as the United States’ GPS in terms of location accuracy and service availability.Answering a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Science and Technology (Independent Representative); Minister of State (Independent Representative) for Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said,vNavIC can help with navigation on land, in the air, at sea and also in disaster management. NavIC satellites are placed in a higher orbit than the United States GPS. NavIC satellites are placed in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) & Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) at an altitude of about 36,000 km; GPS satellites are placed in the Mean Earth Orbit (MEO) at an altitude of about 20,000 km.
NavIC uses dual frequency bands, which improves the accuracy of dual frequency receivers by allowing them to correct for atmospheric errors by using two frequencies simultaneously. It also helps improve reliability and availability, as the signal from both frequencies can serve positioning requirements equally well.At the time of its inception, the self-developed satellite navigation system was designed to meet the requirements of critical national applications, including defense and commercial applications. The coverage area was therefore designed to cover Indian territory and the surrounding 1,500 km of Indian borders. The needs of critical national applications evolve over time and efforts are constantly being made to meet these requirements, including in terms of coverage.
