India Builds Its Own GPS

@Muralidharan A well made point. I concur.

We have to build around cost-effective applications, create as many hand-held devices as possible to be handed over to the marginalised farmers, and other self help groups to reach this to the end users without any additional burden.  Greater service should be done for those who are living in semi-arid and arid region!

For a soldier operating under cover of darkness in enemy territory the biggest challenge is navigation due to unfamiliar territory and lack of easily identifiable landmarks on ground.
Great step ahead, still a lot to cover.

Unlike the American GPS and the upcoming Chinese and Russian ones, the Indian GPS will not be controlled by military. The IRNSS will be controlled by ISRO and will have two dedicated transponders for exclusive military usage. The rest of it will be for other sectors like agriculture and civil aviation and fisheries as I have mentioned. This would obviously be a commercial application.

In case these satellites can be used for some commercial purpose that generates revenue  fund constrains can be overridden, better  if shared with private Indian enterprise like TATA, or it may turn into pushing junk into space. Can’t the IRS satellites do this job? 

This is going to be a huge hit provided funds are pumped in  like Mr Sharma says. The counter terrorism part is worth spending money on.

Definitely, China is way ahead with 35 satellites hovering around.

Yes. India has funds. The problem is more should be pumped in. There is nothing more important than national security. China is spending far more.

A strategically important move. But do we really have funds to direct to keep IRNSS alive?