A presentation on Open Source explaining the how, when, what and the way forward for Open Source technologies in India

1. Open Source Software – Towards a self-reliant India
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2. President, Dr. Kalam's views
• “Software maintenance and software upgrade is an important issue for defense.
Even though the required software for the equipment could be developed by the
private industry, it is essential that the technical know-how and the architecture
is fully available with these services for ensuring provision of life time support for
the software which may or may not be forthcoming from the trade.”
• “...a few months back when I met Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft. While
walking in the Mughal garden, we were discussing the future challenges in
Information Technology including the issues related to software security. I made
a point that we look for open source codes so that we can easily introduce the
users' built security algorithms. Our discussions became difficult since our views
were different. The most unfortunate thing is that India still seems to believe in
proprietary solutions. Further spread of IT which is influencing the daily life of
individuals would have a devastating effect on the lives of society due to any
small shift in the business practice involving these proprietary solutions. It is
precisely for these reasons open source software need to be built which would
be cost effective for the entire society.”
• “Our software industry has to move up the value chain and come up with
innovative products that will have a commercial impact in the international
markets.”
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3. President, Dr. Kalam's views
• Open Source software is important for India:
– For ensuring defence security – ensuring we can have access to
ensuring code is safe, independence to make software upgrades even
if trade relations are not forthcoming
– As lives of millions of people will be increasingly dependent upon
Information Technology, we cannot allow that to be held ransom to
whims and fancies of proprietary solution providers
• Knowledge Products, Global competitiveness
– If India has to become competitive in the global markets it has to rise
up the value chain (we must move ahead from being 'cheap labourers'
to 'knowledge workers' and innovate and build 'domain specific'
products and services)
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4. Understanding Open Source Software
• Open Source Software (OSS) is software where the code of the
programme is available for reviewing and modifying by users of
the software
• This presentation has been made in 'Open Office' which is an
OSS counterpart of MS-Office, which is proprietary and the
software is not available for reviewing or modifying
– One can do exactly the same thing – make Documents, Spreadsheets,
Presentations, etc. – just as in MS-Office
– This software code is available for downloading from a website and
you and I could download, and edit the same to add a special feature
in this same application and “sell it” to my customers.
– The only condition is that (under specific licences, in this case GPL)
the 'software code' of this entire product would 'have to' be released to
the customer
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5. Philosophy of Open Source Software
• OSS is more a philosophy of 'Freedom'
– Security, Stability, Cost, Efficiency, Flexibility
– Ethical and moral reasons – of “sharing” - knowledge, intellect,
resources, money
– There is no vendor-locking for years to come
– Most OSS is 'free of cost' since most of these products are built by the
World community on the “Internet”
• The movement primarily started with development of Linux
– Linus Torvalds, a Finnish student, who in 1991 released an Operating
System that he wrote, on the Internet for feedback/review from other
developers around the world
– People started to look at the same, contribute to it, and it started
growing
– Later, they decided to formalise the development and build a
competing “free & open source” Operating System for the world to use
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6. Philosophy of Open Source Software
• Currently an Open Source website – Source Forge – has over
50,000 products available to be downloaded and used
• Range from general daily use software such as Open Office to
high-end security solutions
• The movement has evolved into maintaining “knowledge
databases” of “General Knowledge” and even of “Chemical
Compounds” to keep them open
• The belief is that all knowledge is open to the world society for its
use and upliftment and people must not be held ransom to
greed-based profiteers
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7. Philosophy of Open Source Software
• Wiki-pedia – a 'general knowledge bank' of the entire world –
larger than Brittannica already (and growing) – is available for
anyone to edit and add knowledge – the world community brings
in consensus on knowledge
– Some very unbiased opinions on 'Kashmir' are available there
– Some extremely biased opinions on the Caste-system in India are put
up (but then it is open for us to give a more balanced approach to the
same)
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8. So how does India gain from OSS?
• Even after being called an “IT super-power” India accounts for
less than 2% of all IT outsourcing around the world
• We are considered a destination where there is excellent
technical talent clubbed with excellent English speaking skills
available at 'lower rates' – in hard words – we're 'cheap
labourers'
• Sadly even some of our biggest industry leaders think so:
– The whole process where people get an idea and put together a team,
raise the capital, create a product and mainstream it -- that can only
be done in the US. It can't be done sitting in India. The Indian part of
the equation is to help these innovative US companies bring their
products to the market quicker, cheaper and better, which increases
the innovative cycle there. It is a complementarity we need to enhance
• Nandan Nilekani, CEO, Infosys, quoted in The New York Times, March 7, 2004
• We shall lose our our low-cost advantage very soon to East
Europe, Russia, South America, China, Pakistan, Indonesia
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9. So how does India gain from OSS?
• BPO & software services, is all good – but we must grow further
to stay ahead of the increasing competition
• But how do we grow up the value chain? Where do we go from
here?
• Knowledge Products, Business Consulting (Domain Knowledge)
is the answer
• We must innovate products, gain deeper domain knowledge and
market these products worldwide, including within India for our
local businesses, defence, education, medicine,
telecommunication, knowledge databases (such as bio-resources
mapping to protect against bio-piracy)
• We have a very large pool of products readily available to use,
implement and 'build' (modify) further
• We have a very large community available to 'write software'
(which can also be used by other people, communities and
cultures across the world)
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10. How do we adopt OSS?
• Businesses need to:
– start adopting OSS products and solutions
– break-away from the mindset that 'free means unreliable'
– break-away from the mindset that only large vendors
produce reliable software
– become conscious that a lot of them use 'pirated software'
(and not free as a lot of them still think)
• Our government needs to have a consistent policy across states,
cities, schools; Consider this:
– Economic Times, 09 October, 2002: “The Indian government seems to
be taking a leaf out of China's operating system movement, and is
planning a countrywide drive to promote the open source operating
system - Linux, as the 'platform of choice' instead of 'proprietary'
solutions such as Microsoft desktop software
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11. How do we adopt OSS?
• Our government needs to have a consistent policy across states,
cities, schools; Consider this:
– Economic Times, 09 October, 2002: “Open IT – Govt to re-write
code in Linux - The Indian government seems to be taking a leaf out
of China's operating system movement, and is planning a countrywide
drive to promote the open source operating system - Linux, as the
'platform of choice' instead of 'proprietary' solutions such as Microsoft
desktop software.”
– Economic Times, 15 October 2004: “Over 12,000 teachers in schools
run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be trained by
Microsoft in providing computer-aided education. An MoU to this effect
was signed by the MCD and Microsoft here on Friday under the IT
corporation's `Project Shiksha'. The training programme, to be spread
over five years, would cost Rs 2 crore and include at least 12,000
teachers from over 1,850 MCD-run schools in the capital
(President, Dr. Abdul Kalam, would have been a sad man this day)
• All government organisations must build and run their applications on non-
proprietary software; even now there are several NIC run websites built on
Microsoft platforms – this will send out a message of their commitment
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12. How do we adopt OSS?
• Venture Capital funding:
– Government needs to both groom/mentor companies, as well as make
easy policies to make available funding for small companies
– Private organisations must break away from their wealth-hoarding
mentality and learn from this worldwide movement – “make profits but
share as well”, “knowledge is for the world's people to use and make
their lives better”, “encourage small entrepreneurs”
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13. India's contribution to OSS
• India has been a contributor to the OSS movement quite early
– CDAC has been a major contributor, especially with localising Linux
(Indian languages) and several other products
– Individual Indian programmers have been regular contributors to some
extremely high-profile products including on GUI Linux interfaces (we
have been up the value-chain in this case)
• Simputer:
– The Simputer Trust was registered as a charitable trust in 1999 with
the broad goal of harnessing the potential of Information Technology
for the benefit of the weakest sections of society
– The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the
benefits of IT can reach the common man : Bridging the “Digital Divide”
– A local community such as the village panchayat, the village school, a
kiosk, a village postman, or even a shopkeeper should be able to loan
the device to individuals for some length of time and then pass it on to
others in the community. The Simputer, through its Smart Card feature
allows for personal information management at the individual level for
an unlimited number of users.
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14. What kind of OSS products are available?
• Operating System: Linux
– Typically considered an extremely stable 'Server' OS
– Desktops and Laptops (much cheaper) are now available even by
vendors such as IBM, Compaq
• Content Management Systems (CMS): Typo3, Drupal (made by
an Indian group), Plone, others
– Typo3, according to a third-party analysis ranks upto some of the best
proprietary CMS systems worldwide.
– Proprietary CMS cost upto US$200,000 in license fee, while Typo3 is
free
• Desktop software: Office software, Browsers, Email clients
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15. What kind of OSS products are available?
• Programming languages: PHP, Python
• Databases: MySql, Postgres
• Network security systems
• Business software: ERP, Accounting
• Many many others
• ... and if they are not there release some initial files and you will
get people from the world over trying to help you
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16. Key Takeaways
• Government: Promote Open Source software and technologies
next time you release a tender
• Business leader: Explore using Linux as a Server software,
desktop software; Hire professional companies around you
offering Linux implementation and maintenance services
• Education institute: Promote a learning environment based on
Linux
• Research organisation: Take initiatives in mapping 'knowledge'
that your organisation carries and share it online (using Open
Source platforms)
• Student: Learn to use Linux; install it as a second operating
system on your computer; become part of a local 'Linux Users
Group' (LUG)
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17. Key Takeaways
• Open Source will help
– you save money
– promote a culture of 'sharing'
– build a strong, self-reliant India
– build a better world
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18. Thank you
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