Introduction
Background of the Research
The Global Positioning System (GPS) has revolutionized the field of navigation all over the world. Initially created just for military uses, to locate ground forces and to direct their movements with accurate precision as to their destinations, GPS now is available everywhere for commercial use.
GPS: It is a 24-hour, all weather, and space based navigation system to accurately determine position, velocity and time in a common reference frame, anywhere on or near the earth on a continuous basis. The GPS system consists of three major segments viz., space segment, control segment and user segment (n.d.). A fleet of 24 satellites manages all these GPS applications, located 11,000 nautical miles above the earth. From sailors and pilots to hikers and hill climbers, from construction equipment and farm machinery to laptop computers, and soon to wristwatches -- it's helping us figure out where we are and where we're going.
GPS is still a very sophisticated and complex technology. To make it successful and acceptable worldwide, it must be simple and easy to use. The GPS vendors in India understand that they need to provide simple, low cost and reliable GPS solutions in the future. Initially, GPS focused on high end users and high precision, but today the GPS industry is passing through a transition phase and is concentrating on the production of low cost, low precision, easy to use and still reliable GPS instruments.
Mishra (2001) remarked, “The surprise came from the fact that GPS technology is already being used in India and that too at the high end of the technology. In spite of all these, the ‘common would-be user’ is still bewildered. The policy is a great influencing factor; indeed, it is a 'vital vector' to channelise the resources, i.e. manpower (including training), equipment and embedded knowledge of GPS. It goes without saying that the Department of Science and Technology well have to look after the GPS policy as it has been done so far.”
A country’s policies and basic infrastructure play crucial roles in the nurturing of new technology like GPS and its various dependent technologies, like GIS. Equal and fair competition between the local as well as International GPS vendors will enhance the growth of GPS market throughout India.
In comparison to the US, GPS is not very prominent among the common people in India. It may be due to the vast differences in the standard of living between the US and India. In the developed countries it is common to have a GPS in most cars, while in India it is not feasible due to the high cost. The exchange rate, i.e., conversion from dollar to rupee, taxes and custom duties makes the US-made cheap GPS handset a privileged commodity in India.
Parthasarathy (2003) explained how $100 worth of small GPS sets in US cost so much more in India. Taxes and duties in India add another 65 per cent to the landed cost. Moreover, the cost of transportation/marketing increases when the product comes from abroad to India. So the end user has to pay a very high rate compared to its US counterpart.
Every GPS import needs a license from the Government. These licenses are obtained by the vendors on behalf of the user. This is a cumbersome process and takes at least 2-4 months or more. This also helps to further escalate the cost of GPS indirectly (Gupta, R., 2003).
It was experienced first hand while working in the GPS field in India. In many cases the company’s rent the GPS system due to its high cost. The GPS market in the US is highly competitive, as a result of which it is able to reach to the common users at a cheaper rate.
Many companies have ventured into providing GPS and GPS-related services. Some of the real-time uses of GPS fall into the following categories
- Location: finding one’s position
- Navigation: moving from one place to another
- Tracking: observing the movement of individuals and vehicles. Also known as geolocation technique
- Timing: gaining the exact time anywhere in the world
- Mapping: designing maps for various locations
Thus the use of GPS technology is unlimited both for urban and rural development in India.