Indian official reveals ‘plan’ to build a national mobile OS (UPDATED)
India's government has reportedly teamed with academia and startups to create its own mobile operating system dubbed IndOS, in the name of competition.
Local outlet Business Standard revealed the initiative, quoting a senior government official as saying "India is one of the largest mobile device markets in the globe. Our objective is to create a secure Indian mobile operating system that could also create choices and competition for Android's dominance in the Indian market."
Government sources have since gone quiet on the plan. Probably because the plan is not very detailed or serious, as India's government surely understands two important things about the operating system market.
UPDATE
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‘BharOS’ vs Android: India Needs Not Just a Self-Reliant but Reliable Operating System
Although there is no publicly available documentation about BharOS and its features, it looks like a ‘fork‘ of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) led by Google.
It is also unclear which phones BharOS can run on, as the operating system has been announced independent of any specific phone that will run it. While being promoted as an indigenous operating system, BharOS, however, is not entirely a product of Indian origin as the operating system is based on AOSP, which is a global effort by people of multiple nationalities.
In a highly globalised world, it is really hard to produce a truly domestic product from scratch. At present, there are several other operating systems like LineageOS, CalyxOS, GrapheneOS based on AOSP that are supported by independent free and open-source software groups to help people take control of their personal data and mobile phones.
But why is there a need for using operating systems other than the default one supplied with the phone? This is for people who want privacy and don’t want to continuously feed Google with information.
Google has abused its position as a promoter of the Android project by locking several features and apps to the Play Store and Google Play services. The default installation of Google apps and the Google search engine in the Android OS has always been a contentious issue with regulators. In the European Union and India, regulators are pushing back against Google’s dominance in the market.
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Indigenous BharOS is based on early Linux versions: IIT Madras director
BharOS, the homegrown operating system that was successfully tested by Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Dharmendra Pradhan on January 24, is based on a Linux kernel, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras director V Kamakoti told Moneycontrol.
The Linux kernel is the main component of the open-source Linux operating system developed by Finnish software engineer Linus Tovalds. Android, too, is a derivative of the Linux kernel, Kamakoti said.
This is important because BharOS is being promoted by the Indian government as an indigenous mobile operating system. On January 24, a Press Information Bureau release described BharOS as a "Made in India operating system", which was an important step towards fulfilling the PM's vision of "strong, indigenous and self-reliant digital infrastructure in India".
4 more articles for the week:
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'BharOS', Made-In-India Operating System, Tested. Check Out Its Features
The BharOS is an Indian government-funded project to develop a free and open-source operating system (OS) for use in government and public systems.
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Explained | What is BharOS software and how different is it from Google’s Android OS?
However, there is no official date disclosed yet for when mainstream users will be able to access and install BharOS. There is also no official information about when BharOS will be available on Android/iOS app stores and smartphones.
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Explained: How Is India-Made 'BharOS' Different From Android And iOS?
BharOS is actually based on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) so it is more similar to Android than iOS. The only difference between Android and BharOS is that the latter doesn't include any Google services, allowing users to download any application of their choice.
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Explained: BharOS an indigenously-built operating system for smartphones in India
Reports suggest that BharOS will be available on a range of devices including laptops, phones, as well as desktops, however, it is still being developed and its release date has not been announced yet. Furthermore, unlike Windows OS, a single build of BharOS cannot be installed on all Android phones, therefore, even after the wider roll-out might not be available for all devices. So far, it is reportedly said to be compatible with Google Pixel smartphones but there is no official confirmation by the developers.
FOSS Force:
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India’s New Indigenous BharOS Is Basically DeGoogled Android
In a press conference on Thursday, India announced a new mobile operating system, BharOS, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal to make India self-reliant in the tech sector, including telecommunications and chip-fabrication.
Before you get too excited about having a new mobile operating system to fiddle around with, it’s not quite that new. It’s based on Android, or more specifically AOSP, the Android Open Source Project.
The Register:
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India demos monopoly-busting national mobile OS • The Register
A mere week after an Indian government official teased the possibility the nation could create its own mobile OS to challenge the dominance of Google and Apple, minister for education and minister of skill development & entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has demonstrated just such an OS at work and endorsed it as the sort of the India should be doing.
The OS is called BharOS and was announced last week by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
The OS is reported to ship with no pre-loaded apps, and to share no user data. Only private app stores work with the OS.
Pradhan claimed the OS is incapable of running malware, without elaboration.
Late coverage:
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India launches indigenous BharOS mobile operating system
New open source OS, aimed at breaking Android's dominance, is claimed to be incapable of running malware
India on Tuesday unveiled BharOS, a new mobile operating system with a focus on security and privacy. BharOS is a project financed by the Indian government to create a free and open source operating system....
IT Wire:
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IIT Madras firm develops Indian mobile operating system
Called BharOS, the new operating system is an Android open source project, developed by incubated JandK Operations Private Limited.
Unlike Android, it does not have default Google apps or services and IIT Madras says the operating system can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets.
According to IIT Madras, BhasrOS provides a secure environment for users and is a significant contribution towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, a phrase coined by by Indian PM Narendra Modi and his government, which translates to 'self-reliant India', in relation to the country's economic development plans.