NEW DELHI: India has joined a select league with its “satellite-based augmentation system” Gagan becoming the first to be certified for the equatorial region, making it one of the few countries with an operational SBAS, govt said Wednesday. “Gagan reinforces India’s vision of technological self-reliance and global leadership in satellite navigation,” the aviation ministry said in a statement.Gagan project has been fully operational since 2015. “Its latest achievement came in June 2026, when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) successfully conducted India’s first satellite-based landing system approach on a commercial jet aircraft using Gagan,” the ministry said. TOI had reported this on June 28, three days after the regulator had got the flight operated on an Airbus A320 into Udaipur on June 25.What’s more while it was created primarily to safely guide commercial planes in the sky, the system is now finding uses in several other fields ranging from maritime navigation to telecom.The reason: the joint Airports Authority of India (AAI)-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) creation provides high-accuracy positioning and navigation capabilities that improves the accuracy and reliability of GPS signals. This is a big assurance in the times of massive GPS spoofing and jamming.“(Gagan) enables more accurate positioning in coastal and offshore waters. It supports intelligent transport systems and fleet management for road transport and highways. For railways, it improves operational efficiency and safety. In disaster management, it enables accurate location tracking during emergencies and natural disasters,” the aviation ministry said in a detailed statement on Gagan issued Wednesday.Similarly, it “strengthens navigation for defence operations; supports reliable synchronisation of telecom infrastructure; improves the accuracy of land surveys and geospatial mapping. By extending benefits of precise satellite navigation beyond aviation, Gagan is contributing more efficient public services,” it said.“Aviation requires highly accurate navigation, where even slightest positioning errors can affect flight safety. While Global Positioning System (GPS) helps aircraft determine their position, its signals can be affected by atmospheric conditions and other sources of error. As India spreads its wings as a major aviation market, the need for precise and reliable navigation has become has become a national priority,” it added.How was this achieved: ISRO and AAI jointly developed the “GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation” (Gagan) system with SBAS improving GPS by providing real-time correction and integrity information. Integrity information alerts pilots if a GPS signal is unsuitable for navigation.“It has placed India in a select group of countries with an operational SBAS, alongside the US, Europe, and Japan. Today, Gagan supports safer aircraft operations across Indian airspace and has applications beyond aviation. It also strengthens India’s indigenous navigation capability and advances the country’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” the statement added.
