NavIC crisis: Switzerland’s clocks fail, India’s GPS system stalled! Need local treatment immediately

New Delhi. On March 13, 2026, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said that the atomic clock of India’s satellite named IRNSS-1F present in space has stopped working. ISRO called it a normal process. It was told that the satellite had completed its 10 years, hence it was shut down. But the real matter of concern is that due to the closure of this one satellite, the entire navigation or GPS system of India is in danger. Navigation system is the technology by which we know the routes, the army sees its location and the ships are shown the way. We are talking about NavIC, whose full form is Navigation with Indian Constellation.

India had created this NavIC because during the Kargil war of 1999, America had refused to give its GPS information to India. Then India decided that it would have its own system. The rule is that to tell the exact location, altitude and time of any person or vehicle on the ground, it is necessary for at least 4 satellites in space to work properly together. If there are less than 4 satellites, accurate information will not be available. India has sent a total of 11 satellites since 2013, but currently only 3 satellites are fully functional, namely IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01. This means that technically our system is not able to work as efficiently as required.

Why use a watch?

Every navigation satellite has a special and highly accurate clock installed inside it, which is called atomic clock. This watch gives such precise information about time, which reveals your exact location. If this watch gets damaged then the satellite costing crores of rupees becomes like junk even though it is in space. The Indian satellite which has been shut down had three watches. Both backup watches had already broken down, and now the third one had also broken down. Frequent failure of these clocks in satellites has been a big challenge. However, similar problems were faced in the systems of China and Europe, but they fixed it quickly. Now India has also sent a new satellite named NVS-01, which has a clock made by India, which is expected to improve in the future.

Who made atomic clock in satellite?

Initially, when India sent satellites from IRNSS-1A to 1I for NavIC, the atomic clocks installed inside them were not India’s own. These watches were purchased from SpectraTime company of Switzerland. The surprising thing was that even after spending crores of rupees, these foreign watches broke down again and again. Due to these clocks being stopped, India’s mission worth crores kept getting stuck from time to time. This became the biggest headache for NavIC, because when the clock stops the satellite becomes useless.

According to a report by FACTLY, the imported clocks used in the first generation satellites became the main reason for NavIC’s failure and technical challenges.

After this, instead of accepting defeat, ISRO decided to develop its own technology. Now India’s own indigenous rubidium atomic clock is being installed in the new generation satellites that are coming. The new generation satellites are called NVS series.

• Who made: It has been prepared jointly by Space Application Center (SAC) of Ahmedabad and National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) of Delhi.
• First Success: NVS-01, launched in May 2023, becomes the first satellite of India to have a completely “Made in India” clock.
• Preparing for the future: In the coming time, the new satellites (NVS-03, 04 and 05) that will be sent into space will have not one or two but 5 indigenous clocks installed in them.

Why was this change necessary?

Understand this that if the engine of your car is from a foreign company, and it breaks down midway, then you will have to look to another country for spare parts. But if the engine is from India then we can fix it ourselves and make it better. Having an indigenous watch means that now India will not have to depend on any foreign company or its conditions for navigation.

What difference does it make to the common man?

You may think that what difference will the satellite malfunction make to us common people? But the truth is that NavIC has now become a part of the structure of our country. Today, more than 10,400 trains in India depend on it to see their location. 40,000 fishing boats in the sea and more than 15 lakh vehicles plying on the road are using this system. Not only this, the government has made a rule that from 2025 it will be necessary to have NavIC in mobile phones sold in India. If our own system remains weak then in times of war or any crisis we will again depend on others. And trusting others can be as dangerous as handing over the handle of a moving car to a monkey. America had clearly refused to give GPS to India in the Kargil War, whereas India has been considering America as its good friend.

Country’s security and way forward

Nityanandan Yogeswaran, head of the Geospatial Research Program of Takshashila Institution, has written an article in The Times of India highlighting this concern. He has written that if seen strategically, it is a question of India’s independence. Today Pakistan is using China’s BeiDou system, which has become very powerful. If India also wants to remain competitive then it will have to do four big things-

• First, New satellites will have to be sent immediately in place of damaged satellites, so that at least 4 to 7 satellites remain functional at all times.
• Second, We will have to become completely self-reliant in the technology of the clock installed inside the satellite.
• third, Small parts (chipsets) used in mobiles and vehicles will have to be made in India only.
• fourth, The control centers built on the ground will have to be made more modern, so that the enemy cannot jam our signals.