NLSIU Releases Report on ‘The Rise of FOSS in India’

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, had undertaken a research project on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in India, funded by the Samagata Foundation. The research culminated in a report titled, “The Rise of FOSS in India: Empirical Evidence and Insights from Cross-Sectoral Case Studies.”

The report was launched officially at the “Round Table on FOSS in India,” jointly organised by National Law School of India University; Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIIT-Delhi); and FOSS United on July 11, 2025.

Mr. Abhishek Singh, Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, delivered the keynote address via a video message.

About the report

The report analyses the adoption of FOSS in India, primarily through case studies across four sectors (healthcare, education, finance, and software and IT services) and different types of organisations (start-ups, non-profits, medium, large, and public sector organisations). The study highlights both the benefits and challenges experienced by organisations using FOSS. The study illustrates that while organisations benefit from increased innovations, cost/ time savings, flexibility, and enhanced security, they also face challenges such as lack of enough skilled personnel and limited community support. Organisations are also seen taking a cautious approach to licensing, favouring permissive licenses over restrictive ones. Based on the diverse empirical findings, the report also recommends some policy reforms including mandating FOSS adoption for government bodies, integrating FOSS in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education, and updating procurement guidelines to mandate FOSS solutions when they are available.

In the Press

Ensure govt. uses open source software, says report | The Hindu

Session Schedule

Report Release and Keynote Address
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Welcome remarks by: Arul George Scaria, Professor, NLSIU, and Pankaj Jalote, Founding Director and Distinguished Professor, IIITD
Keynote talk by: Abhishek Singh, DG NIC & Additional Secretary, MeitY; Government of India

Session 1- Strategic Importance of FOSS for India
12 PM – 1 PM
Chair: Venkatesh Hariharan, India Representative, Open Invention Network; Renuka Sane, MD- Trustbridge; Jaijit Bhattacharya – President, Center for Digital Economy and Policy; Parminder Singh – Independent Researcher; Rahul Sai Poruri – CEO, FOSS United

Session 2 – Role of FOSS In India’s BFSI Sector
2 PM – 2:45 PM
Chair: Suryaprakash Mishra, Associate Professor, NLSIU; Sairee Chahal, Founder, Mahila Money; Sushil Kurri, CTO, PocketATM; Shuvam Misra, Founder Chairman, Remiges; Vishnu Sudhakaran, Engineer, Zerodha

Session 3 – Role of FOSS in Indian IT
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM
Chair: Rahul De, Independent Consultant, Retired professor & Dean, IIM Bangalore, author of AI for Manager; Akhila Somanath, Co-founder and COO, Tech4GoodCommunity; Kishore Bhargava, CEO, LinkAxis & Open Source veteran; Vineet Dahiya, Director & Promoter, InfoAxon

Session 4 – Education Sector & FOSS
4 PM- 4:45 PM
Chair: Rahul Sai Poruri – CEO, FOSS United; Shobha Tyagi, MRIIRS; Karkee U, Founder of Villipuram GNU Linux User Community; Vigneswara Ilavarasan, IIT Delhi

Concluding Remarks by: Venkatesh Hariharan, Open Invention Network and Suryaprakash Mishra, NLSIU

Glimpses from the Sessions