Free software enthusiasts have launched Code Free for India (CoFFI), their latest initiative to leverage the power of free and open source software in nation-building.
This is in the best spirits of the ‘Make in India’ campaign, according to the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software based here.
CoFFI is the brainchild of this Centre, which hosted the fifth International Free Software Conference-Swatantra 2014 that just concluded here.
P Balasubramaniam, Open Technoogy Group, National Informatics Centre, launched the CoFFI initiative on the final day of the conference.
The initiative aims to encourage development of local software solutions for local problems, a spokesman for the International Centre said here.
This applies particularly in the case of mobile computing, open hardware, geospatial computing, local language computing, Internet-of-things and e-commerce.
CoFFI will invite programmers from the free software community around the country to develop tools and applications for desktop, Internet, mobile, cloud, and Internet-of-things for use by civil society and citizens as well as government and institutions.
GAME CHANGER
According to Balasubramaniam, the last two decades have seen the emergence of free and open source software as a game-changer in the field of software.
It offers a more ethical, robust, cost-effective, legally less-restrictive and community-oriented way of creating, using, sharing, studying, extending and localising software.
Most innovation in software today happens in the FOSS domain around the world, he said.
News about Microsoft open-sourcing its flagship .Net only reinforces the fact that free software is not only mainstream today, but is essential to foster innovation.
CoFFI will help in popularising the use of free software and support innovation in this domain to a great length, he hoped.
Balasubramaniam recalled that the Make in India campaign seeks to stimulate, encourage and promote manufacture of various products within the country.
MAKE IN INDIA
This would help save foreign exchange, create local employment, and enhance technical competencies of the nation’s workforce.
Everyday relevance of computing technology is near-ubiquitous in the form of mobile phones and personal computers, he said.
Many of the issues at the grassroots can be addressed and limitations of rural infrastructure addressed thorough suitably-designed software applications.
This applies to fields ranging from education, social and reproductive health, agriculture and rural livelihood, financial inclusion and preserving culture and traditional sciences to local governance institutions.
“Mobile and cloud computing, social networking, and Internet of Things, will make it possible to address these fundamental problems in new, creative ways.”
CoFFI PORTAL
The CoFFI initiative seeks to make available mentors for the nation-wide programme to assist developers for taking up programming projects of general interest.
The International Centre here will also help developers to get in touch with potential sponsors from corporate or government entities.
Completed and in-progress projects will be listed in the CoFFI portal together with the details of the team.
CoFFI will provide a broad umbrella for the free software community members and groups who like to help address local issues and needs, said Satish Babu, Director of the Centre.
It will aim at providing a platform to initiatives that are successful locally to scale up to state or national levels.
Use of local language computing tools and contemporary free software technology will be popularised while keeping in mind bandwidth and device limitations.