India Becomes 4th Nation To Have Its Own Navigation System: IRNSS Is India’s Own GPS!

Adding to its list of achievements, now India has become the fourth country in the world to have its own independent regional navigation satellite system(IRNSS).

IRNSS Recognition By WWRNS

Further, the IRNSS is recognised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS).

Apart from India, the other three countries who already have their own navigation systems recognised by the IMO includes the US, Russia and China.

How Does This Help?

The main goal behind designing the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is to provide accurate position information services to assist in the navigation of ships in Indian Ocean waters. 

For getting the recognition, the Director General of Shipping (DGS) had approached the IMO for granting recognition to the IRNSS as a component of the WWRNS.

The US-owned Global Position System (GPS) or Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) also has to go for the recognition process which in case of India took two years.

“Overdependence on any one system is not safe. The IMO has encouraged various countries to design their own satellite navigation systems. The IMO has now accepted IRNSS as an alternative navigation module. It was in use only on a pilot basis earlier but now all merchant vessels are authorised to use it, even small fishing vessels,” said the Director General of Shipping Amitabh Kumar.

While talking about the IRNSS, Kumar said that it is a modern and more accurate navigation system and over 2,500 merchant vessels in Indian waters at any given time will now be able to use the system. 

Further, the IRNSS will be utilized to assist in the navigation of ships in ocean waters within the area of approximately 1,500 km from the Indian boundary, according to Kumar.

“Details of the tests carried out on merchant ships with regard to the accuracy of the system were included in the report prepared by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which was submitted to IMO for consideration,” as per his statement.

Strengthening Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission

This achievement is considered as a significant step towards the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative of the Union government.

 “The Maritime Safety Committee of IMO during its recent meeting held from 4 to 11 November 2020 has approved the recognition of the IRNSS as a component of the World-wide radio navigation system,” the statement said.