The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recognised the IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) as a component of the World-wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) during its 102nd session held virtually from November 4 to November 11, 2020.
- After the US, Russia and China, India has become the fourth country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by the IMO.
- Unlike GPS, however, IRNSS is a regional and not a global navigation system.
What is IRNSS?
- The IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate position information service to assist in the navigation of ships in the Indian Ocean waters.
- The system is based on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) satellites that are used for navigation.
- IRNSS will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users.
- The Prime Minister has been named it NavIC.
What are the Benefits?
- The navigation system can now replace GPS in the Indian Ocean waters upto 1500 km from the Indian boundary.
- Merchant vessels in Indian waters can now use the “modern and more accurate” system as an alternative navigation module.
- At any given time, there are at least 2,500 merchant vessels in Indian waters that can all use the IRNSS.
(Source: Indian Express and ISRO)
