BharOS

BharOS
DeveloperJandK Operations Private Limited, IIT Madras
OS familyAndroid (Linux)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClose source
Latest releaseBharOS 1
Marketing targetSmartphones
Available inEnglish, Hindi, Punjabi
PlatformsARM64
Default
user interface		Graphical (multi-touch)

BharOS (formerly IndOS[1]) is a closed source mobile operating system designed by IIT Madras.[2] It is an Indian government-funded project to develop an operating system (OS) for use in government and public systems.[3]

History

[edit]

Google is facing a crackdown from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its practices pertaining to Android.[4] There have been several demands for the need for an Indian app store that does not levy exorbitant fees for sales.[5] BharOS aims to reduce India's dependence on foreign-made operating systems in smartphones and promote the use of India-made technology.[6] It was developed by JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops), which was incubated at IIT Madras.[7] The minister for telecommunications and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the operating system in a public event.[8][9][10]

Features

[edit]

BharOS targets security-conscious groups.[11] BharOS does not come with any preinstalled services or apps.[12] This approach gives the user more freedom and control over the permissions that are available to apps on their device. Users can choose to grant permissions only to apps that they require to access certain features or data on their device.[13] The software can be installed on commercially available handsets, providing users with a secure environment, the company stated in a statement.[14] The new operating system will provide access to trusted apps via organisation-specific Private App Store Services (PASS), which is a list of curated apps that meet security and privacy standards.[13]

At a panel discussion, Karthik Ayyar, the Director of JandKops, indicated that only applicable security updates will be applied to BharOS devices in closed group networks[15]

Criticism

[edit]

Divya Bhati writing for India Today noted that instructions on downloading, installing BharOS on compatible devices, or plans for new devices, or its support for security and software updates were scant.[13] In September 2023, a fork of GrapheneOS containing references to BharOS was made public on GitHub.[16] Although the Github Profile of Sadhasiva, which hosted the code has since been deleted, it can be viewed through unofficial forks by archival websites.[17] Through a tweet, IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation identified the code to have originated from Megam Solutions, a Chennai-based software company which was not connected with JandKops. However, IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation is a client of Megam Solutions.[18] In a subsequent tweet, the organization highlighted communications with the CEO of Megam Solutions, that the name BharOS was unintentionally used.[19]

Ayyar, stated that the operating system would remain closed source software due to "organizational reasons". Ayyar indicated that he did not have the authority to make decisions regarding whether BharOS's source code would be open or closed.[20]

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ Sharwood, Simon (January 25, 2023). "Well that escalated quickly: India demos homebrew mobile OS". The Register. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "Indian govt aims to build Aatmanirbhar chipset and BharOS to take on Google, Apple". India Today. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "'BharOS', Made-In-India Operating System, Tested. Check Out Its Features". NDTV.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "ETtech Explained: what is government-backed BharOS and why is it important?". The Economic Times. January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "'BharOS' vs Android: India Needs Not Just a Self-Reliant but Reliable Operating System". The Wire. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Aulakh, Gulveen (January 25, 2023). "BharOS ready for launch; govt, private firms do a reality check". mint. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "IIT-Madras Incubated Firm Develops Indigenous Mobile Operating System". NDTV.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  8. ^ @EduMinOfIndia (January 19, 2023). "Paving a way for Atmanirbhar Bharat!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Can India's BharOS replace Android, iOS? Tough road ahead". January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "BharOS: Vaishnaw, Pradhan test 'Made In India' mobile operating system developed by IIT Madras". The Economic Times. January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "Open Sesame: BharOS makes it possible to break the stranglehold of Android. It requires support". Times of India Blog. January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  12. ^ "What is BharOS, the new mobile operating system made in India that wants to take on Android?". January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Bhati, Divya. "BharOS, a new rival to Android? Here are all your question answered". India Today. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  14. ^ "IIT Madras-incubated firm develops BharOS, India's rival to android". Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  15. ^ [REPLAY] BharOS Panel Discussion. Retrieved April 7, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  16. ^ "Leaked GitHub repo raises questions on IITM's BharOS: Story so far". Techcircle. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Github Repo of sadhasiva1984". Github. September 28, 2023. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.
  18. ^ "Megam Solutions". megamsolutions.com. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  19. ^ "IITM Pravartak on X". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "Agam's Tech Tricks". Telegram. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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