[Fsf-friends] gates and rms in delhi at same time!

Mon, 11 Nov 2002 04:49:26 -0500

isn't a sweet moment in indian IT history, that bill gates and richard
stallman are in delhi at the same time? i haven't seen this much
highlighted (perhaps i missed some media coverage)=2E but today's new york=

times makes reference to india' emerging enthusiasm to embrace open source=

and free software officially=2E (remember the economic times front page
headline last month which said that the ministry of IT was endorsing
linux?=2E=20

here's the full text of the NYT article=2E
the link is=20
http://www=2Enytimes=2Ecom/2002/11/11/technology/11GATE=2Ehtml

November 11, 2002

Bill Gates to Tour India Amid Global Software Debate

By SARITHA RAI

BANGALORE, India, Nov=2E 11 =97 Taking the case for Windows software to a
crucial audience, Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, is set to begin a
four-day tour of India today=2E

This country has an estimated half-million individual software developers,=

many of them writing programs for some of the world's largest corporations=
=2E
Mr=2E Gates's visit, his third to India, comes as programmers around the
world are being lured to join the so-called open-source computing movement=
,
which favors the Linux operating system =97 available free or in low-cost
software packages =97 over proprietary systems like Microsoft Windows=2E

"India is a big bet for Microsoft," Rajiv Kaul, Microsoft's managing
director in India, said last month in announcing Mr=2E Gates's visit=2E
"India's unbeatable developer strength has ensured that we are in the top
slot for Microsoft globally=2E"

Software developers are the people who write applications that work with a=

given operating system=2E And their support is crucial to Microsoft=2E

"Microsoft is a marketing machine," said Satyen H=2E Parikh, "hooking
developers by offering them hundreds of shrink-wrapped packages off the
shelf, ready to be deployed, along with a variety of goodies=2E" Mr=2E Par=
ikh
is managing director of the Indian unit of Borland, a provider of software=

tools for developing applications across platforms that can span Microsoft=

and Linux=2E

Among other recent measures, Microsoft recruited perhaps India's best-know=
n
software executive, N=2E R=2E Narayana Murthy, the chairman of a leading
software exporter, Infosys Technologies, to endorse Microsoft's
technologies in large newspaper ads=2E The headline on one quoted Mr=2E Mu=
rthy
as saying: "When I saw Windows XP in action, I was amazed=2E How did
Microsoft get hold of my wish list?"

Mr=2E Gates is scheduled to visit New Delhi, Bangalore, Bombay and Hyderab=
ad=2E
If previous visits are indicative, his trip will attract a fawning group o=
f
state chief ministers and federal political leaders lining up outside his
hotel suites, waiting for a chance to meet with the world's richest man=2E=

Recent actions by the government, however, have been less than adulatory=2E=

Just weeks before Mr=2E Gates's impending arrival, officials in India's
Department of Information Technology in New Delhi leaked details of an
effort called the Linux India Initiative=2E It is meant to promote Linux a=
s a
viable alternative to proprietary- based software for use in government
departments, state governments and corporations=2E

But recently, Pramod Mahajan, the information technology minister, has
declined to discuss the initiative=2E "I don't want to comment on Linux so=

close to Mr=2E Gates's visit," Mr=2E Mahajan said last week in a telephone=

interview from New Delhi=2E

Mr=2E Mahajan, whose office displays a large framed photograph of himself
with Mr=2E Gates, a founder of Microsoft, on a previous visit, added: "Bil=
l
Gates is Bill Gates=2E He is a brand name=2E And I won't say anything
controversial now=2E"

Linux, a descendant of the Unix operating system that is distributed free
and written and debugged by volunteer programmers, is capturing the
imagination of the techie community=2E But unlike in neighboring China, wh=
ere
the government actively promotes open-source software, in India the
democracy makes it difficult for the government to decree a blanket
software policy=2E

So far in India, Linux is used on fewer than 10 percent of the country's
personal computers and server computers=2E But the potential market for an=
y
operating system is huge: although the country is a leading global softwar=
e
exporter, there are only an estimated four million PC's in use here among
the nation's billion people=2E

"India and China are the world's fastest-growing markets, making them
attractive to multinational computer corporations," said S=2E Ramakrishnan=
,
head of the software division of the Department of Information Technology=2E=

Compared with the Western industrialized world, where the open-source
campaign is nearly as much a philosophical issue as a monetary one, the
appeal of Linux in a developing country like India could be mainly economi=
c=2E

"India needs millions of copies of software," Professor Swami Manohar said=
=2E
He added that if that number was multiplied by 5,000 rupees ($104), the
price of a proprietary operating system, "the costs could run into billion=
s
=97 compare this to a low-cost alternative and the choice is obvious=2E"
Professor Manohar teaches in the department of computer science and
automation at the Indian Institute of Science, which is located in
Bangalore and is India's premier school for pure sciences and engineering=2E=

But Microsoft's concerns could go beyond bargain-basement software=2E The
earliest adoption of open-source software here, beginning more than a
decade ago, was at India's military installations and sensitive research
sites=2E India's National Stock Exchange now uses Linux for critical
applications=2E And Hindustan Lever Ltd=2E, India's largest consumer produ=
cts
company and a subsidiary of the British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, is
considering using Linux to build applications for data warehousing,
inventory management and e-commerce=2E

Across the border in Pakistan, Linux is starting to be used for a host of
projects in schools and government offices=2E "A few months ago, we asked =
all
offices to move the servers to Linux," said Salman Ansari, an adviser to
Pakistan's minister of science and technology in Islamabad=2E "Those who
wanted to use other, more expensive software were permitted to do so only
if they could justify it=2E"

Microsoft has offered a few million dollars a year to the Pakistani
government over a three-year period for all applications in government and=

education=2E The government is studying the offer=2E

While in India, Mr=2E Gates is widely expected to pledge a large donation =
to
public health projects through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation=2E But
Microsoft India's executives hasten to note that the foundation's
activities are distinct from those of the corporation=2E

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