From war to business to economy, why NavIC is the tech for a rising India

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

NavIC, India's homegrown GPS alternative, is the story of how India changed from a country that depended on others for its crucial needs to the one that is confident of creating a place of its own in the global power hierarchy. With Apple agreeing to incorporate NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, in its latest iPhone15 smartphones, India has taken an important step towards ‘atmanirbharta’, replacing the GPS (Global Positioning System) of the US which smartphone makers in India mostly use.

Now India is making it mandatory for both smartphone and auto makers to use NavIC.
The desi GPS: From war to business
When Pakistani troops took positions in Kargil in 1999, one of the first things the Indian military sought was the global positioning system data for the region. The space-based navigation system maintained by the US government would have provided vital information, but the US denied it to India.

A need for an indigenous satellite navigation system was felt earlier, but the Kargil experience made India realise its importance.

Amid increasingly shifting geopolitical realities, it is crucial for India to be self-reliant in satellite navigation. But not just war, where satellite navigation helps track enemy location and movement as well as guide precision weapons, a desi GPS helps economy and business too in a significant way.A big push to the economy
Not very long back, when large swathes of India were out of the formal economy, developing India's own satellite navigation system was a luxury.

As the economy formalises and integrates, now a desi GPS becomes critical for growth. It can help businesses improve efficiencies, cut costs and find new solutions.