Surendra

In the modern era,  NAVCOM  ( Navigation &Communication) are two important parameters of the world. India has been quite active in both the spheres of technology, particularly related to the space segment. India maintains its own communication satellite constellation INSAT and GSAT series of satellites ( Since the early eighties )  and also its Space-based wide Area Augmentation System GAGAN( As per ICAO requirements) and its own Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS- which has been dedicated to the nation by the Indian Prime Minister as NavIC.

The talk deals with the Indian Space-Based Navigation Systems, consisting of GAGAN and NavIC along with the ground segment, its applications, and the system performance parameters. Both the systems are operational and India/ISRO has joined the club of countries that maintain their own independent constellations.

Biography:

Dr Surendra Pal, Former Vice Chancellor- Defence Institute of Advanced Technology- Pune

DRDO Dr. D.S Kothari Chair DG ECS Office Bangalore, Prof. Satish Dhawan Professor, Senior Adviser- Satellite Navigation(ISRO)

Distinguished Scientist, Associate Director, Chairman GAGAN -PMB & Prog.Director Sat.-Navigation- URSC(ISAC)-ISRO] , IEEE Fellow.

Dr. Surendra Pal, a researcher and an academician of international repute having more than  50 years of experience in the field of Antennas, Space Communication and Satellite Navigation,  is the Former: Vice Chancellor of Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune, President of IETE (2012-2014), Distinguished Scientist, founder of India's Satellite Navigation Programme (NAViC and GAGAN) -, Prof. Satish Dhawan Professor, Senior Adviser, Satellite Navigation (lSRO). He was a consultant to UN/ITU and NTU Singapore on Satellite Communication.

He was responsible for initiating projects on  Antennas, Space communication, Microwaves and Satellite navigation activities at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) from the inception in 1971. The journey started with Aryabhata India’s first satellite and went on till Chandrayaan-I. The space communication systems designed and developed by him for TT&C and high bit rate data transmission,in S,C,X , Ku and Ka frequency bands were used in India's various satellite and interplanetary missions. The designs are still used and also worked for  India’s Mars Orbiter Mission. He led the team, which designed (RF) and tested the Indian ISDN 32-meter diameter antenna system.This is being used from tracking Mars Orbiter now Chandrayaan-II .

Dr. Pal was the founder Programme Director of Indian Satellite Navigation Programme GAGAN and NAViC. The NAViC (IRNSS) constellation is a unique constellation at GEO orbit for Regional Navigation, providing better position and timing, stand-alone, for accuracies, for navigation. GAGAN is certified and handed over to the AirPort Authority of India. For NAViC Indian defence and security agencies will be the main user and defences forces will be independent of GPS and GLONASS Uses. It is a great development for the country.

He was a consultant to ITU-Geneva (International Telecom Union) for defining Rural African Satellite Communication and on the GNSS panel of UN Office for Outer Space (Vienna), where he participated and chaired several international meetings. He had developed Mobile Satellite Antenna for ICO/INMARSAT, UK and he was a consultant to NTU-Singapore on X-SAT. He was also Co-Study Director for LEO Constellation of INMARSAT for satellite mobile communication.

As a Vice-chancellor of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology,  he started various courses,relevant to defence services, and established various state of technology laboratories. DIAT has improved a lot during his Vice chancellorship and was put at 63rd rank by NIRF. Some of the laboratories established by him are better than similar once in many IITs.

Dr. Pal is a fellow of several National and International professional Societies. He is a Distinguished Fellow of IETE, Fellow of IEEE (USA), Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE), National Academy of Sciences (NASc), Fellow IET (UK), MIAA (Paris), FVEDA, Ch. Eng (UK), FATMS (I), to name a few. From 2012 t0 2014 he was President of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers India, where he worked for increasing various technical activities in the North East States of India. Dr Pal has received more than two dozen National and International Awards, which includes Judith Resnik Award from IEEE. He is the first person to get the award from the East of France. Dr Pal was an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society. He also visited under IEEE-DLT Programme several universities in the USA, UK, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia & Singapore. He is a recipient of BITS Pilani Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr Pal's expertise is Satellite Communication, RF Microwave, Digital Communication, Radars, Antennas and Global Navigation Satellite Systems.

Address:Delhi, India