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A new draft policy has been passed down in India indicating that all computer hardware and connecting devices used for new e-government projects have to be run on open source operating systems, The Economic Times reported. Besides the hassle of making the change (for both the government and hardware makers), both parties have several options to choose from, most notably Linux and its many available distributions.
The new policy aims to help the Indian government save costs by using open source systems. And with that, it also essentially rules out versions of Windows or the increasingly popular Mac OS. The report elaborates on the new draft and what it means in India:
In general, India has always supported use of open source operating systems, but it is the first time a policy is being framed on the use of operating systems and device drivers in government projects. The policy is expected to open a Pandora’s box, as most companies, including makers of PCs, servers, chips, and operating systems, have arrangements to make their products talk to each other.
Yes, even the big boys including IBM, HP, Cisco, and Sun Microsystems will have to follow this new policy, whereas before those companies were under no such obligation to provide drivers for open source systems. This could result in an increase in cost for the computer hardware and gadgets suppliers, but it seems inevitable if the policy is passed.
Nonetheless, suppliers will have to follow the new policy. In India, e-governance is a whopping $20 billion industry, equivalent to the total value of gold found in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
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