FOR the first time chipsets or microchips, which are capable of receiving and processing the signals of the indigenous navigational system NavIC, will be designed and manufactured in India by an Indian company.
NavIC is a satellite-based navigational system, developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which enables users to determine their precise geographic location and track their movements anywhere in India and 1500 km beyond India’s territorial boundary.
commercial production
Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, the two ministries of the Government of India, are jointly collaborating with a Hyderabad- based firm, Manjeera Digital Systems Private Limited, to facilitate the designing and commercial production of these chips in India. The company has designed baseband processor chip that uses indigenously developed Universal Multifunctional Accelerator (UMA) processor IP, which has ability to receive, read and process the NavIC signals. These chipsets will soon go into large-scale
commercial production
Not all smartphones and navigational gadgets (or navigators) are compatible with NavIC. To use and decode NavIC signals, a navigating gadget should have a NavIC compatible chipset or microchip incorporated inside it. The receivers of NavIC signals such as NavIC compatible smartphones and other navigators, typically incorporate these chipsets or microchips which are designed to decode and process the signals coming from the seven Indian satellites. Currently, they have been using chipsets made by foreign companies such as Qualcomm Technologies of USA and Mediatek Inc. of Taiwan.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat has been the guiding force behind such initiatives of indigenously producing state-of-the-art technologies.
Pivotal role
Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh is playing a pivotal role in driving the development of this groundbreaking indigenous Chipset technology. NavIC, or the Navigation with Indian Constellation, is India’s beacon of selfreliance, shining brightly in the world of satellite navigation, and now the indigenously-built NavIC- enabled chipsets will make it a truly ‘Made in India’ marvel.
