By the conclusion of 2025, every smartphone will need to support NavIC, an original navigation system forged by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as revealed by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology. This mandatory stipulation for NavIC's incorporation into all smartphones comes in the wake of Apple's successful integration of NavIC support into a few of their newest iPhone 15 models.

The Minister explicated that smartphones operating on the 5G network will need to incorporate NavIC support by the start of January 2025, however, other smartphone models have until the end of December 2025 to transition. Apart from this, Chandrasekhar also hinted at the prospect of granting incentives to companies that integrate Indian-made or Indian-designed, NavIC-supporting chips into their systems, through the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) framework.

He further clarified that the Government's goal is to inaugurate incentive structures that would spur the usage of domestic chips which are compatible with NavIC in smartphones. Companies that manufacture items such as laptops, computers, and servers with domestically manufactured components, are already reaping the benefits from the additional advantages that the PLI framework offers.

This altered framework for smartphones might feature similar perks. Chandrasekhar highlighted the impending probability of mobile device makers being incentivised to integrate the NavIC-supporting chips into their devices, once a competitively priced and performance-based mobile phone grid chip that supports NavIC becomes accessible in the market.

The NavIC system, comprising of seven satellites, currently extends navigation coverage over India and neighbouring regions, inclusive of the Indian Ocean. As the addition of more satellites to the existing NavIC constellation continues, the system's coverage and availability will broaden, extending to other international territories.

The recent adoption of the NavIC system by Apple, coupled with other Chinese smartphone brands, signals a promising future for the global development and utilisation of this Indian-devised system. Exclaiming the significance of NavIC, Chandrasekhar stated that it stands as a monumental milestone for India's stature as a space-faring nation, in alignment with other recent accomplishments like the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3 and the Aditya L1 solar mission.