Why not just keep using GPS phones?

Phones can use GPS in peacetime. A sovereign constellation is for denial, jamming, and national timing when the foreign owner’s interest is not India’s.

Can seven satellites match GPS accuracy worldwide?

No. They are meant to serve a region well. Global coverage still needs GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou as complements.

What do you understand by "Standard Positioning System" and "Precision

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GPS SPS is the open civil positioning service; PPS is the encrypted military service with better integrity. India does not control GPS and can face denial, jamming, or a time outage in a crisis. IRNSS uses seven GEO and geosynchronous satellites to cover India and a 1,500 km belt. It offers an Indian open service and a Restricted Service for authorised users. Gains are strategic autonomy, defence use, disaster and transport applications, and indigenous timing for critical infrastructure.

Model answer

Flow diagram

flowchart TD
  GPS[GPS constellation] --> SPS[SPS civil open]
  GPS --> PPS[PPS military encrypted]
  IRN[IRNSS seven satellites] --> ISPS[Indian open SPS]
  IRN --> RS[Restricted Service]
  ISPS --> AUT[Sovereign PNT over India]
  RS --> AUT

Conclusion

Finish and replenish the seven-satellite fleet, keep spare launches, and harden ground stations against cyber and physical attack.
Mandate NavIC in public vehicles, phones sold in India, and disaster sirens so the civil SPS is actually used, not only demonstrated.
Pair NavIC with GAGAN and later multi-GNSS chipsets so users are not blind if one system fails.

SPS is the open civil GPS fix; PPS is the encrypted military fix. IRNSS copies that split on seven regional satellites that stay over India. The advantage is not beating GPS worldwide. It is an Indian signal, Indian time, and an Indian restricted service when a foreign owner could deny or degrade GPS.

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Next question in the 2015 paper (Q12). View answer →
Why not just keep using GPS phones?

Phones can use GPS in peacetime. A sovereign constellation is for denial, jamming, and national timing when the foreign owner’s interest is not India’s.
Can seven satellites match GPS accuracy worldwide?

No. They are meant to serve a region well. Global coverage still needs GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou as complements.

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What do you understand by "Standard Positioning System" and "Precision positioning system" in the GPS era? Discuss the advantage India perceives from its ambitious IRNSS programme employing just seven satellites.

Revision summary

Model answer

Flow diagram

Conclusion

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When UPSC asked this

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Toppers' copies