Dear Reader,

In the second issue of the decODE newsletter, we explore the fascinating world of Free & Open Source Software (FOSS). Key to the vision of creating Open Digital Ecosystems is the word ‘open’, and in many ways, the movement for the adoption of FOSS exemplifies this vision.

By virtue of being freely licensed, FOSS today presents a model that can potentially be scaled and deployed for large societal impact. Already 85% of India’s internet runs on FOSS and some of India’s largest-government projects including Aadhaar, GSTN and DigiLocker have used FOSS in their architecture. But, a study on the evolution of FOSS in India by Civic Data Lab found that while India is a big consumer of FOSS, it’s not a major contributor; we still have some way to go in building sustainable home-grown FOSS projects.

How might India benefit from FOSS? In what ways can FOSS be leveraged for social good? Can FOSS provide a sustainable alternative to proprietary software? The second issue of the decODE newsletter dives into all this and more.

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