GEMINI

News:Union Minister for Earth Sciences launched the Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device.

Facts:

About GEMINI:

• GEMINI stands for Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information. 
• The device has been developed by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
• It is electronically designed and manufactured by a private industry M/S Acord,Bangalore under Make in India Program.
• The device will disseminate information about emergency situations, communication on disaster warnings, potential fishing zones and ocean states forecasts to the fishermen.
• The device is exclusively designed for fishermen about disasters when they are 10 to 12 km away from the coast.
• The GEMINI device receives and transfers the data received from GAGAN satellite to a mobile through Bluetooth communication. 
• A mobile application developed by INCOIS decodes and displays the information in nine regional languages.

Additional information:

About GAGAN:

• GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation(GAGAN) is a step by the Indian Government towards initial Satellite-based Navigation Services in India. 
• It is a system to improve the accuracy of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver by providing reference signals. 
• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have collaborated to develop GAGAN as a regional Satellite Based Augmentation System(SBAS). 
• GAGAN’s goal is to provide a navigation system to assist aircraft in accurate landing over the Indian airspace and in the adjoining area and applicable to safety-to-life civil operations.
• GAGAN covers the area from Africa to Australia and has expansion capability for seamless navigation services across the region.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services(INCOIS):

• INCOIS is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• It is located in Hyderabad & was established in 1999 under the MoES and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO).
• It is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community.

Airport authority of India(AAI):

• The Airports Authority of India or AAI is a statutory body (created through the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994) working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.
• It provides Communication Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.