Open Source Initiative

India's BJP says that the national government will standardize on open standards and open source software if the party is elected to power.

Aside from the scale of these plans, which foresee all Russian government departments using free software, and civil servants being trained in its use, what's particularly interesting is the formulation that open source will be the default except where it does not have the necessary functionality. This approach has been adopted elsewhere, and is reasonable enough, although it's important not to allow lock-in to proprietary formats to lock out open source solutions based on open standards.

The open, inclusive and participatory nature of FOSS is a natural fit for the vibrant traditions of Indian democracy and its emphasis on sharing knowledge. Since software is the foundation of the digital economy, India's IT infrastructure should be built on FOSS and not on closed, proprietary software systems that enforce restrictive licenses, limit the freedom of users and encourage monopolistic behavior.

Sun's Scott McNealy chides some government officials for thinking that open source is anti-capitalist, despite saying the same think himself 20 and 10 years ago. Nevertheless, if McNealy can come around so far after all this time, there's hope that others might, too.