NavIC has struggled to maintain a full operational constellation. Examine the technological and administrative reasons, and suggest measures to ensure continuity of indigenous PNT services.

NavIC was designed as a seven-satellite regional navigation system. In July 2026, however, the government told the Lok Sabha that only three satellites provide PNT. Standalone positioning needs at least four, so it has stopped, while the timing service still works [1]. The shortfall comes from technical losses at every stage, made worse by weak planning for replacements.

Technological reasons

• Launch failure: IRNSS-1H (PSLV-C39, 2017) was lost because its heat shield did not separate [2].
• Orbit-raising failure: NVS-02 reached GTO in 2025, but its oxidiser valves did not open. It is stuck in an elliptical orbit [3].
• Atomic-clock failure: IRNSS-1F's procured clock stopped on 13 March 2026, just after its 10-year design life ended. The satellite now only sends messages [4].
• Continuing import dependence: NVS-03 still carries procured clocks alongside an indigenous one [5].

Administrative reasons

• No spare in orbit: Replacements came one at a time, so every loss cut the count directly. Even if NVS-03 works, it only restores the bare minimum of four [1][5].
• Weak procurement: CAG Report No. 27 of 2014 found that IRNSS switches were bought from a single vendor without a tender. The ₹1.47 crore spent was called infructuous [6].
• Opaque reporting: The real PNT count comes out mainly through Parliament questions. Satellites "in orbit" are not the same as satellites "navigating" [1].
• Mandates ahead of capacity: NavIC-based AIS-140 trackers are fitted in over 15 lakh vehicles [7], yet the constellation cannot give a position on its own.

Measures for continuity

• Launch in clusters: Fly NVS-04 and NVS-05, already in advanced realisation [1], close together to keep a spare above four.
• Indigenise clocks: Scale up the SAC Ahmedabad rubidium clock first flown on NVS-01 [8].
• Develop two suppliers: Build two domestic vendors for clocks and valves, bringing in industry through IN-SPACe.
• Be transparent: Publish the number of working PNT satellites regularly.
• Time mandates carefully: Bring in any smartphone mandate (none exists yet [9]) only once the constellation is healthy.

NavIC's gaps come less from any single failure than from thin redundancy and imported critical parts. NVS-03 counts as working only after it raises its own orbit [5]. A spares-first replacement plan, Indian-made clocks and open status reporting can make NavIC dependable, sovereign PNT infrastructure, in line with India's goal of self-reliance in strategic technologies.