Op-eds

A FOSS approach for non-profits? In a blog titled ‘Can open source help Indian non-profits scale more efficiently?‘ Subhashish Bhadra, Principal at Omidyar Network India, writes about how Indian non-profits like Glific are using FOSS. The piece calls for an ecosystem of problem solvers — users, contributors, and service providers — to come together to help address some of the most pressing problems that India grapples with, through the FOSS tenets of community, collaboration, and transparency.

The international conversation around FOSS: A Brookings piece by Frank Nagle, titled ‘Why Congress should invest in open source software‘ makes the case for investing in both physical and digital infrastructure as part of a COVID-19 recovery strategy. The piece highlights the need for direct funding, procurement regulation, and tax incentives as key to unlocking the potential of FOSS for digital infrastructure development and maintenance.

Research

Report on the 2020 FOSS Contributor Survey: What do FOSS developers think about its future? What are their motivations to contribute to its growth? What is the state of security and sustainability in FOSS projects? An interesting report by The Linux Foundation & The Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard delves into these questions. Learn more here. And read the report here.

News

India is ready to share open-source version of CoWIN for free: With several nations already showing interest, an open source version of CoWIN could soon be a reality. [Read more]

Linux Foundation launches an open source agricultural digital infra project: The proposed “AgStack Foundation” aims to help scale digital transformation and address climate change, rural engagement, food and water security [Read more]

Sri Lanka partners with MOSIP to develop its digital ID ecosystem: The first Proof of Concept on an end-to-end demonstration of the system has already been completed. Having reached this milestone, the project is now expanding with field registrations. [Read more]

Kerala To Pilot Single Open-Mobility Network in Kochi using Beckn protocol: The state government of Kerala is aiming to integrate all of its traffic related facilities into a single network with Kochi as a trial case that will integrate many modes of transport from bicycles to a metro. [Read more]

Point/Counterpoint

Time for a Justice Stack: This article by Amitabh Kant, Preeti Syal, and Desh Gaurav Sekhri posits that a ‘Justice Stack’ could provide a paperless, cashless, and consent-based justice delivery system. They propose a federated architecture that can provide privacy and security, consisting of interoperable units that can be deployed across all levels of the Indian judicial system.  [Read more]

Efficiency vs. Dignity: This article by Nikita Sonavane, Srujana Beg and Ameya Bokil highlights the unintended consequences of an interoperable digital architecture in justice delivery. They suggest that “seamless exchange” can likely whitewash biased data creation, creating databases that harm marginalised communities by branding them “habitual offenders.” [Read more]”