India’s satellite-based navigation and augmentation services sector may soon get a policy boost with the Indian Satellite Navigation Policy – 2021 (SATNAV Policy – 2021). The Department of Space (DoS) intends to devise a “comprehensive and substantive” national policy for satellite-based navigation, and has placed the SATNAV Policy – 2021 draft on ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) website for public consultation. Post consultation, the policy draft will be sent to the Union Cabinet for final approval.
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Key objectives
The new policy aims to “achieve self-reliance in satellite-based navigation and augmentation services with emphasis on assuring availability and quality, enhancing usage, working towards progressive evolution of the services and promoting research and development”. The draft lists out the following objectives:
- Ensure guaranteed and continuous availability of free-to-air navigation signals for civilian uses and secured navigation signals for strategic uses in the defined coverage area.
- Ensure guaranteed and continuous availability of Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) for aviation safety in the defined coverage area.
- Ensure judicious dissemination of Signal-In-Space (SIS) interface definition and system performance reports for the intended use.
- Work towards progressive evolution of navigation signals and expansion of coverage for enhanced use.
- Focus on technology development for enhancing the navigation satellite systems.
- Work towards compatibility and interoperability of Indian satellite navigation and augmentation signals with other GNSS/SBAS signals.
- Promote Indian industry and academia to carry out research and development activities in the field of satellite navigation-based applications with emphasis on societal benefits.
- Work towards facilitating global usage of Indian satellite navigation and augmentation systems.
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The draft notes that over the last few decades, there has been a phenomenal growth in the number of applications that rely on Position, Velocity and Time (PVT) services provided by Space-based navigation systems. With the advent of information and mobile phone technology, crores of users across India rely heavily on PVT based applications in virtually every walk of life.
Boosting Space-based navigation
Among other things, the draft lays special emphasis on strengthening technology development in the Space-based navigation system of India. While many of the Space and ground-based systems used for navigation and augmentation system are indigenously developed, the draft clearly states that “ISRO /DOS shall put best efforts towards reduction of dependence on foreign imports”. Further, the Space body and the Space department will ensure that “the ground systems are periodically augmented with state-of-the-art systems. The draft also has a mention of “harnessing emerging technological advancements such as, highly stable clocks, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, inter-satellite links, on-orbit re-programming of navigation signals, quantum communication, etc. in the Space segment”.
Industry, academia participation
Since one of the key objectives of the policy is to promote the private industry and academia to carry out R&D activities in the field of satellite navigation-based applications, both ISRO and DoS shall put in place mechanisms to promote the participation of Non-Government-Private-Entities (NGPEs), state government bodies, non-government bodies and academia towards creating an “ecosystem built using Indian satellite navigation system which are socially and economically beneficial”.
As per the draft, ISRO/DoS shall identify applications for societal benefits using Indian satellite navigation system; execute proof of concept demonstration/pilot projects and shall eventually enable Indian industry for productionization; provide technical support for academic institutions in the field of GNSS research and applications; and encourage all the concerned central/state ministries towards utilization of NavIC applications with a view to promote the Indian industry engaged in developing indigenous NavIC based solutions.
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are Space-based navigation systems that provide navigation signals across the globe. Currently, there are four major GNSS — GPS from the USA; GLONASS from Russia; Galileo from European Union and BeiDou from China — offering PVT solutions globally. In addition to these, there are two regional navigation satellite systems — NavIC from India and QZSS from Japan that offer navigation signals for the defined coverage area.
