[plug] [link] (Indian) Govt move on to let in Linux

[leon at brooks.fdns.net]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=32354337

    Yesterday, the IT ministry had a meeting of around 70 people, from
    companies like HP, IBM, Sun and TCS, government agencies like BARC
    and CDAC, state governments like Kerala, West Bengal and MP to
    evolve a level playing field for Linux vis-a-vis proprietary software
    (read Microsoft). [...]

    As far as concrete pro-Linux acts go, government tenders may soon
    stop specifying Microsoft or any other vendor's name while floating
    software tenders, thus throwing open the way for Linux vendors to
    grab lucrative government contracts hitherto barred from them.

    The government is also setting up special interest groups with
    officials of industry and academia to find out how Linux can be
    deployed in e-governance, defence, education and so on. 

    Since support to Linux is till a big issue, the government is also
    thinking in terms of setting up support and resource services, and
    call centres for Linux users. It is also looking at setting up pilot
    sites, where Linux applications can be "touched and felt". A
    heartening fact for Linux-philes would be the enthusiasm for Linux
    shown by extremely security-sensitive agencies like Bhabha Atomic
    Research Centre and the National Information Centre (NIC). 

    Another aspect that came out in the meeting was the work on
    Indianisation of Linux that's happening now. 

Hooraw!

Cheers; Leon