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- During recent operations, India successfully deployed NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) across multiple combat domains, including missile guidance, drone navigation, and battle damage assessment.
- Developed by ISRO, NavIC—formerly known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)—offers precise Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) services across India and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.
- The constellation comprises seven satellites: three in geostationary and four in inclined geosynchronous orbits, transmitting dual-band signals (L5 and S-band), with encrypted channels reserved for military use.
- NavIC ensures secure navigation for defense operations, independent of foreign systems like GPS, which was notably denied to India during the 1999 Kargil conflict.
- Its robust, anti-jamming capability and fast signal acquisition offer superior accuracy in the region. With the new NVS satellite series, NavIC is expanding to better cover the Indian Ocean Region.
- Future plans include integration with hypersonic weapons and forming a digital backbone for India's defense space infrastructure.
- Nations worldwide are increasingly investing in autonomous satellite technologies. In 2024, China made a breakthrough by launching the first self-driving satellites capable of adjusting their flight paths without human input.
- These satellites leverage advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and edge computing, enabling them to make decisions, analyze data, and respond to their environment independently.
- This marks a shift from traditional, ground-controlled systems to intelligent, self-operating spacecraft.
- Autonomous satellites can conduct complex operations such as in-orbit docking, debris avoidance, self-repair, and orbital maneuvering.
- They also support real-time disaster detection, targeted surveillance, and military applications like autonomous threat tracking from space.
- However, their growing independence raises critical concerns. One major risk is "AI hallucination," where satellites misinterpret harmless objects as threats, potentially leading to unintended conflicts.
- Moreover, current space treaties were created with human-controlled missions in mind, leaving legal and ethical gaps. Cybersecurity threats also pose significant risks in the evolving era of autonomous space systems.
- The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has proposed amending the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, to establish a statutory central oversight authority.
- This body would define the roles, structure, and jurisdiction of tribunals while also handling key functions such as performance evaluation, coordination with selection committees, and capacity building.
- A centralized oversight mechanism is essential due to fragmented administrative control—over 16 central tribunals currently function under different ministries, leading to inconsistent standards and operational inefficiencies.
- Moreover, executive dominance over appointments threatens judicial independence. A statutory body could ensure uniform qualifications, transparent selection, and greater autonomy for tribunals.
- Streamlining tribunal operations is crucial for improving dispute resolution and enhancing the ease of doing business. For instance, as of December 31, 2024, ₹6.7 trillion was pending before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal alone.
- The Supreme Court, in cases like L. Chandra Kumar (1997) and Madras Bar Association (2020), has also underscored the need for such central oversight.