UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: NAVIC SATELLITE SYSTEM

Q1. In the context of global navigation, NavIC is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. An independent regional satellite navigation system providing position, navigation and timing services over India and up to about 1,500 km beyond its boundary
  • B. A fully global navigation satellite constellation offering worldwide positioning coverage
  • C. A satellite-based augmentation system that corrects GPS signals exclusively for civil aviation
  • D. A ground-based deep-space tracking and telemetry network for interplanetary missions

Q2. The NavIC satellite navigation constellation is built and operated by which one of the following agencies?

  • A. Airports Authority of India (AAI)
  • B. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Department of Space
  • C. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
  • D. Telecommunications Engineering Centre under the Department of Telecommunications

Q3. As recognised by ISRO, how many fully global navigation satellite system (GNSS) constellations operate worldwide?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Six

Q4. The encrypted NavIC signal, access to which is restricted to authorised and strategic users, is designated as which one of the following services?

  • A. Standard Positioning Service (SPS)
  • B. Restricted Service (RS)
  • C. Precise Positioning Service (PPS)
  • D. Safety-of-Life Service (SoL)

Q5. How many satellites constitute the planned second-generation NVS series (NVS-01 to NVS-05) that augments the NavIC constellation?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Seven

Q6. As stated to Parliament in March 2026, the largest functional sub-group among the eight working NavIC satellites is characterised by its capability to perform which one of the following?

  • A. Broadcasting full navigation signals
  • B. One-way messaging only
  • C. C-band ranging only
  • D. Atomic time dissemination only

Q7. GAGAN, often referenced alongside NavIC in the context of air navigation, is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. A satellite-based augmentation system that augments GPS signals for civil aviation, jointly run by ISRO and AAI
  • B. India's independent regional navigation constellation operating in the L5 and S bands
  • C. A ground-based augmentation system installed only at major Indian airports
  • D. An encrypted military positioning service operated by the armed forces

Q8. How many satellites made up the first-generation IRNSS constellation (IRNSS-1A to IRNSS-1I) under the programme later renamed NavIC?

  • A. Seven
  • B. Eight
  • C. Nine
  • D. Eleven