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If you thought that the Indian Space Research Organisation was going to spend its 2017 resting on its considerable achievements of its space programme, you would be wrong.

The agency is also on a quest to ensure the safety of Indian fishermen.

Image for representation. Photo source

Every once in a while Indian fishermen tend to accidentally cross borders and enter international territory while out in the sea. This has been especially a problem for fishermen who accidentally cross into Sri Lankan territory. In fact, the prime minister of the country, Ranil Wickremesinghe, in 2015 went as far as to warn that Indian fishermen may be shot if they breached the borders.

In order to save fishermen, ISRO is developing a navigational app that will provide all the information that fishermen would need to make sure they stay well within Indian borders. The app will use information from the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) whose operational name is NAVIC.

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Speaking to the Times of India, Rakesh Sasibhushan, chairman and managing director of Antrix Corporation Ltd (which is a commercial leg of ISRO), noted: “Now, NAVIC based mobile devices which give information to fishermen, are being planned to be developed in regional languages to help fishermen navigate to the PFZ. It also gives information on international boundaries to help them prevent getting caught for crossing international boundaries, which is a big issue today.”

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ISRO notes that the app is still in the developmental stage and will be released in the coming months.

Earlier this year, ISRO made history by successfully launching 104 satellites in one day. The organisation is also working towards ensuring that the launch of Chandrayaan-2 happens in the first quarter of 2018.

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