President Of India Advocates OSS

cOdEgUru writes "I am sure this is a first. The President of India has urged Indian IT Professionals to develop and specialise in OSS rather than Windows. To be noted is that he made the speech (look for the "Think Different" section) at the famous Indian Institute of Information Technology (India's foremost academic institution equivalent to MIT). Also he reminisces that his meeting with Mr.Gates were difficult due to differing views concerning OSS and Security. What should be noted about him is that he is not a politician, but a scientist and an independent thinker foremost."

Anti-Americanism/Microsoftism

[BJZQ8]

Doesn't surprise me about India. The world is really ganging up against Microsoft simply because they're American I think (or perhaps they just act "American"...and fortunately they're doing it in the form of Open Source. Good thing there isn't a European Microsoft...I mean a wholly European, closed-source company that people could go to instead of MS. Sort of like people around the world are turning to the Euro instead of the dollar. What ever happened to that little Indian linux PDA?

Optimistic

[Timesprout]

He may not be a pure politician but theres a lot of political optimism in the numbers he's looking for regarding growth. Indian IT will not keep growing the at the rate it is now for much longer, I'n not saying it wont grow, just not at the rate they are projecting. It strikes me as very naive and shortsighted for a leader to put so many economic eggs in one basket by baking on IT to prop up the economy. Its not oil or Gold, customers can get it somewhere else.

Re:Anti-Americanism/Microsoftism

[Austerity Empowers]

As an American I beleive Microsoft is evil and worth ganging up on. Monopolies are the end of capitalism, this is econ 101. MS has gotten too big, assumed monopoly status and needs to be broken. I hope the rest of the world succeeds where Americans have failed. It MUST be destroyed.

Great News

[wahgnube]

I was just reading a book written by the Indian president, Igniting Minds and came to realize how forward thinking and intellectually "fresh" (childlike.. curious, don't take stuff for granted, asking extremely basic questions...) this great man really is. This is great news, in the sense that there are people at "higher levels" who have foresight in science/technology. I hope it sets a precedent for other countries as well. In a side note, the IIIT is not a premier institution, no where near the league of the institutions equivalent of MIT here.

Interesting for India's - and the world's - future

[Dark Paladin]

India it would appear is working incredibly hard to drag itself out of its near third world state - it has one of the most prestigious technical universities in the world (the Indian Institute of Technology, who's graduates include Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems Inc.).

It has programmers that may not be paid as much as their US counterparts, but for this very reason are being courted heavily.

So, you're the President of India. You're trying to make your country more money. Which will you do: churn your countries workers into Microsoft developers, or work with Open Source?

Microsoft Advantages:

• Major desktop monopoly.
  
• Large funds to finance new infrastructure, education, etc.
  
• Major business ties, especially in the United States.
  

Open Source Advantages:

• Free (as in Beer) - your students/average citizen can get ahold of it.
  
• Free (as in Speech) - if your companies should ever start to compete with Windows in a major way (thereby making India more money from paid developers/consultants), you don't have to worry about some unknown factor messing them up *cough*DR-DOS*cough*.)
  
• Open Source is making huge inroads into the server market. If you support Microsoft, you support Microsoft's growth, which *might* mean more money for India, but *certainly* means more money to Microsoft than India would get. Supporting Open Source and being the best at it guaruntees more money to India in the long haul.
  
• Piracy - my understanding is that piracy is pretty much a problem in nearly every Asian/Middle Eastern country, including India. If you support Open Source now (which is pretty much pirate proof), you can actually cut down on piracy in the long term. (You can't steal what is free - which means you have money to spend on something else.) If India should develop major anti-piracy laws in the future, having much of your software being Open Source cuts down on all the nasty legal issues.
  
• Decrease business overhead. Open Source software typically runs on cheaper components, so Indian businesses that use that can save money on hardware (and software, natch) with Open Source, which means more money to give to programmers/company bottom line. More money in the business sector means more money in citizens hands, and "trickle down" theory says "Hello!".
  
• Broader variety of hardware support. If an Indian company were to come out with its own computer chip technology/plants to compete with Intel, Open Source would allow that company to have a quick access to applications (granted, there would be the issue of compilation/etc, but at least there would be a common base to start with).
  

I'm sure it wasn't easy for this gentleman to have to explain these ideas to Mr. Gates. I'm not saying that Mr. Gates is a bad person in general - but having a potential 1 billion market right in front of you and told that the competitor has the inside track (especially after all the charitable donations to that country) probably didn't help his appetite very much.

The interesting thing is how this will trickle out. Why did Unix make it big in the business world? Well, students trained on it, and when they entered the Work WorldTM, they said "Hey - I can make a Unix server and solve problem XYZ." This is something that Microsoft has bet on as they help finance education - churning out the folks who "know thier stuff".

If more companies are turning to Linux for their development/help desk needs, odds are, a student with an Open Source education will propose using Open Source tools to solve the problem.

It's very, very interesting. There are cracks appearing in the walls, and I'm wondering how much longer the flood will be held back.

Ah, well - at least Apple isn't going out of business this month. (And they're getting pretty good about supporting Open Source too. Hmmmmm....)

Re:Microsoft

[The Cydonian]

Here's a possible answer [microsoft.com].

Incidentally, the Microsoft India Development Center is located very close to the other International Institute of Information Technology [iiit.net] campus in Hyderabad [cyberabad.com] (Dr Kalam gave the speech in I-squared-IT, Pune [isquareit.com]).

In a way I guess, it wasn't surprising that Dr Kalam delivered a pro-OSS/Software Libre speech at an IIIT; been to the Hyderabad campus last year, and honestly, it was a weird feeling looking at a lab full of people using Emacs in Devanagri script. (They were using/developing Anusaraka [iiit.net])

Yes, that's right trolls, they've successfully resolved two computer-related jehads out there. :-)

Re:Microsoft

[jkrise]

"I wonder how these changes in the political climate of software will affect Microsoft's Indian software development division?"

Neither India nor MS seem to be indesparate need of each other, atleast for the software development. The total no. of emps in MS- India is less than 500, an insignificant fraction of the IT manpower of India.

Except for SFU and now a command-shell with .Net elemnts, MS does not do it's core development in India. Even if this got relocated to the US, I doubt if any significant cost escalation could accrue to MS.

The only reasons (as I understand) that MS does development in India could be PR and to promote their brand of IP and respect to IP. All in all, this development could affect sales of MSware and ruffle a few diplomatic feathers, but is unlikely to do anything to MS s/w development efforts.

Microsoft Revenues Currently/Recenly 60% Overseas

[SilentMajority]

Given that the MAJORITY of Microsoft's revenues come from overseas, this type of news along with the recent one about Munich Germany switching to Linux is significant.

Fix your political system first

[swb]

India's not a poor country, it's just a really, really corrupt one.

It's a tough choice, I know, between the ideologically bankrupt and wholly corrupt Congress party and the racists in the BJP and their above-the-law backers like Thackarey and his thugs.

When you guys get that sorted even reasonably well, we'll be willing to listen to criticism from you.

Re:equivalent to MIT?

[caesar79]

I would argue that the entrant to any of the IIT's [ernet.in] is TECHNICALLY much more qualified than 99% of the entrants I've seen in the US. To get into the IIT's, you need to clear what is known as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) [ernet.in]. The examination is conducted all over India. An estimated 250000 students take the exam yearly with about an estimated 2500 getting through to the 6 campuses of IIT's. The entrance exam is grilling. It encompasses three 3-hr exams in maths, physics and chemistry. The syllabus of these exams is roughly equivalent to that of a 3-year bachelor course in science (BSc). So its like you need to be about 3 years ahead of your grade to get through. With the increasing number of applicants, the exam has been made into a two stage exam - a three hr screening multiple choice exam followed by the aforementioned three 3-hr exams. You have to clear both!! Typically students start preparing for the JEE exams atleast 2 years before they give it. School work is neglected as the syllabus for the JEE is way more advanced than the normal school. The JEE is not a joke. It is one of the toughest exams to get through. Take this as an example - two senior year students came up witha polynomial time algorithm for Primality [iitk.ac.in]testing.

A little background on Abdul Kalam

[jazuki]

A P J Abdul Kalam led the nuclear weapons program in India prior to being tapped to be titular head of state as President. (Note that the President of India is largely a ceremonial post, like the Queen of England. However, it does offer a bit more of a bully pulpit. As in England, the head of government is the Prime Minister.)

When India tested its first nuclear weapons (both fission and fusion), Abdul Kalam crowed with pride about how it was an indigenous effort. And this was largely true: They figured out, based on published materials, and with some Russian help and some reverse-engineering, how to build the facilities to generate weapons-grade uranium and plutonium and make heavy water, and constructed the facilities themselves, the latter with very little outside help. This was because they didn't want to be dependent on anyone else for such a critical national security matter.

It's about India being master of her own destiny.

So, it must really grate on Abdul Kalam that so much of software developmetn work in India is focussed on proprietary, and externally controlled, technologies. For him, the OSS model offers a perfect way out, sharing with the rest of the world, but leaving no chance that the rug can be pulled away without India's acceptance.

That said, all he has is the bully pulpit. Hopefully, he will be able to get some of the relevant people, whether in the universities or in government, to listen and take the issue seriously.

Re:Fix your political system first

[JDevers]

I'm a citizen of the US and I think our system of government is completely corrupt, I listen to other people's complaints about our government (I am a graduate student at a very culturally diverse university, so I know a LOT of people who are in the states only for an education) and generally agree.

What amazes me most is that people from other countries see the media representation of this country and assume EVERYONE feels that way. While it may be the majority attitude in some places, it isn't the only attitude or even a very dominate one. Most of the people in this country that don't listen to criticism about our government are the same who's life ambition is to be on the Jerry Springer show. In other words, pretty much the bottom 5%, but also sometimes the most vocal 5%.

Re:Fix your political system first

[swb]

Whatever the political problems the US has they are miniscule in comparison to the problems in India.

As an example, the Indian parliament rejected a measure requiring MPs to disclose criminal history; they almost passed a disclosure requirement for "serious" crimes like robbery, rape, homicide, but then rejected that too!

The BJP is racist and is openly supported by Hindu nationalists that publicly incite riot and have been responsible for hundreds of deaths of Muslims.

Taking criticism of the US political system from Indians is like taking tolerance classes from the Nazi party. If you can't clean your own house, what gives you the moral authority to criticize the American political system? Some supernational sense of poltical correctness?

Give me a break.

Re:Microsoft

[gilesjuk]

Not at all, India knows it is in a win-win situation. The main reason why Microsoft are investing there is the time difference. Testing can be done in India while the US is sleeping, US programmers can then arrive at work the next day and read the results.

Sure there are other countries with similar time offsets, but Indians for the most part speak good english and those who study computing are well trained.

Open Source and ethics...

[towatatalko]

What is "earth shattering" about it is that indeed it is "earth shattering". It's not that India is one of the poorest countries in the world that matters here, but the brainpower that is inherent in their ability to first adopt then innovate with far less cost to software development. The reason Gates went there was that he recognized it as a potential money saving and money making opportunity as well as doing "charitable" PR with some millions of $.

In addition, 25% software engineers at MS are Indian. Balngalore area is a huge software and computer-engineering center now that can compare to Silicon Valley, etc. But the reason their Prez spoke about importance of OSS is that he recognized superior ethics in OSS development as compared to proprietary model. So, when India moves in OSS direction there's a model country that can be copied elsewhere. Since ideas from India have considerable intellectual impact on the younger generation in the West since around the 60ies it is in that tradition that OSS can become more widespread than it is now.

By the way "superior ethics" of OSS is like "karma yoga", or selfless service that one does for the sake of others without expecting a reward or recognition, even though such reward may come anyway, but then you don't dwell on it in your mind, etc. So, OSS is naturally an ally with Indian traditional thinking and so in that regard there's coherent purpose for both.

Re:Fix your political system first

[Anonymous Coward]

Since you seem to know more than the average
american about the BJP *and* you've brought
in a reference to "hundreds of deaths of Muslims,"
it's quite apparent what you really are.

What the fsck are you doing out of Paki-land?

Re:Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, we are just slaves to these people. We are willing to work for less so they come to us. A computer scientist/programmer in india gets paid half compared to his counterparts her in America.
We Indians are willing to settle for less.

Re:Microsoft

[OldTurkeyBuzzard]

True that it does not affect M$ at all. Anyway, advocacy of Open Source Stuff is one thing - it will rub off well on the student community alone but what happens once they take up jobs in Indian IT companies? Point to be noted is, Indian IT companies thrive on developing stuff on M$ware, with M$ware for M$ware. With the Open Source _business_ model yet to prove itself globally, no one's gonna take this up in India - at least in the foreseeable future.

It doesn't follow

[Gerry Gleason]

Living in a country with corrupt politics doesn't disqualify someone from commenting on corruption wherever and whenever they see it. You speak as if rooting out corruption was as simple as taking a stand against it as an individual. Your Nazi party analogy is less than worthless as you are equating an entire nation with a sub-group that self-selects for intolerance. Nazis are intolerant because this is their philosophy and they encourage all members to be this way is in no way equivalent to: India is corrupt because all Indians are corrupt. No, the Indian government may be corrupt, but that in no way suggests that all or even most Indians are corrupt. Even the idea that their government is more corrupt than the U.S. is dubious, therefore your entire comment has no point.

Yes, activism must start at home, but there is no reason not to share insights and approaches globally. Often it is easier to sort out the issues from an alien perspective, just as we often have more clarity about our friend's problem than our own.

Remotely connecting this to the topic, I claim that the widespread adoption of the OSS development model can only be a positive example in terms of transparency and openness. Both of these are very good habits for a society trying to reduce the impact and scope of corruption.

Contrarily: (was Re: true wisdom)

[lysium]

Perhaps in the long view, Gandhi would approve of nuclear weapons because they are an ultimate deterrent. Granted, this might change if the USA goes ahead with tactical nuclear weapons, but as of yet nuclear weapons have created more indirect peace than indirect violence.

Re:Indian president is a technocrat..

[maxpublic]

character is a lot more important, and he's far more a man of his word than Al Gore

And let's not forget:

- he's a deserter who went AWOL for 2 years and never saw the inside of a prison for his actions;

- he's a drug addict and alcoholic;

- he's currently involved in some of the shadiest deals ever administered by a U.S. President re the 'rebuilding' of Iraq, the vast majority of these contracts going to personal friends or the friends of his vice President.

Yep, Bush is a real trustworthy sort. I have no doubt whatsoever that Gore would've been equally vile, but all this does is prove that they're *both* scumbags.

Max

Not suprising & not significant

[jordandeamattson]

First, I don't find this speech all that surprising. India since Gandhi and his spinning wheel has had a focus on independnce as a people and a country. Nehru - first prime minister of India - and others pushed for the formation of IIT to help India grow their own crop of engineering professionals. In this they have been extremely successful, but the unexpected consequence is that that engineering talent has been exported to other countries. And well it should, for it is top-notch (here I speak as someone who has two IIT grads in my chain-of-command and work closely with a passel of them and am hiring three to work for me in India).

On the other hand, this speech is not all that significant. Dr Kalam's influence is extremely limited. Remember that in India the president is the head of the state, with little - if any - power or authority. This speech is roughly equivalent to Queen Elizabeth coming out in favor of OSS. Would it make the news? Yes. Would it influence British business or political decisions in a significant way? Probably not. The equivalent in power and authority to the US President in India is the Prime Minister.

Dr Kalam hold the larger ceremonial position of president because of his work as the "rocket man". He is the person that gave India ballistic missiles and his naming to this position by the BJP (the leading, Hindu Nationalist party that runs the current Indian goverment) was at the point where tensions were at their highest with Pakistian last year. It is widely thought it was to send a message to Pakistian that India was serious about Kashmiar and would not back-down.

Bottom line, I don't think that IIT grads will be focusing their energies on OSS work. It is their desire to land a job with a Microsoft, Adobe, InfoSys, Tata Consulting Group, or Wipo. These companies are focuing on building and delivering non-OSS software.

Re:Indian president is a technocrat..

[phliar]

President Bush has a pilot's license and flew F-102 Delta Darts in the Air National Guard---have you ever flown a plane from Texas to Washington DC? (Bush did that once for a date w/ Pres. Nixon's daughter Pat ;)

What the hell is the big deal with getting a pilot's license? Any idiot can get one -- I know, I have (am!) one. But I didn't get a cushy National Guard pilot job instead of being sent to Vietnam; and I didn't follow that up by deserting from -- er, I mean just not being there -- even that sinecure. (I wish I could have spent thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money to get laid.) As to the rest of your little political rant: come on! Everyone believes he's an idiot, even people who think he has done a good job as president. I don't want a "man of his word" if that only means "not lying about illicit sex on national TV" -- I just want the damn country running better than it has been the last couple of years.

"As regards India's president [something much worse that they should work on instead]" -- my mom told me to watch out when you hear something like that, it's a ploy to distract. India, like any rational society, should work on all its problems -- different amounts based on resources and importance. I think that assuring India's technological future so that future riches would allow solving other problems is a reasonable stance for him to take. Why not invest in the future too, instead of getting obsessed by the present?