---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: celsius thomas <[email protected]> Date: 23 November 2010 15:22 Subject: Fwd:- National policy for Open Standards notified To: sanil abraham <[email protected]>, arun george < [email protected]>, blesson raphael <[email protected]>, abhilash sriram <[email protected]>, dilshad <[email protected]>, [email protected], jayaraj <[email protected]>, kiron codeworx < [email protected]>, manu cherian <[email protected]>, nirmal kumar < [email protected]>, rafeeque <[email protected]>, reni pg < [email protected]>, sajith kumar <[email protected]>, sujith parameswaran <[email protected]> Cc: Afeesh Joshy <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Baiju Rajan <[email protected]>, "Harish C.M" <[email protected]>, [email protected], dipa suresh < [email protected]>, dona antony jose <[email protected]>, [email protected], jacob <[email protected]>, [email protected], johnson joy <[email protected]>, kuriakose thekkel < [email protected]>, vineeth <[email protected]>, michael babu < [email protected]>, nidhin rama <[email protected]>, [email protected], priyaranjan priyaranjan <[email protected]>, "RANJITH P.S" <[email protected]>, rojan sitmobile < [email protected]>, saira sunny <[email protected]>, Sudeep Sam < [email protected]>, shino thalumkal <[email protected]>, sreekumar gopinath <[email protected]>, veena <[email protected]>
see:- http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece National policy for Open Standards notified Deepa Kurup Share <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20> · print<http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece?css=print> · T+ <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece#> T+<http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece?textsize=large&test=1> · T-<http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece?textsize=small&test=2> Centre will soon set up enforcement and compliance body In what is termed a progressive and momentous move, one that will show the way for the developing world, the Central government has notified a National Policy for Open Standards in e-governance. The policy, which lays down a framework for selection of technological standards, mandates that all government e-processes adopt a “single and royalty-free open standard” in each technological domain. This implies that the specifications of the standards — including associated patents and extensions —must be accessible and royalty-free, in perpetuity. This applies to any new e-governance projects or new versions of the existing projects. The existing applications will have to provide for interoperability while interfacing with other systems. This is significant because it will promote standards that are inter-operable (say, among various government departments), avoid any form of vendor lock-in and are cost-effective. Significantly, it can also fuel technological innovation by offering domestic and home-grown companies a level playing field. The best example of how open standards can do this is the story of the growth of the Internet, one that was built entirely on open standards. Historic move While the European Union has set open standards for inter-operability and a few countries do emphasise the use of open standards, Brazil is the only other country known to have a formal policy. Advocates of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), in India and abroad, have termed India's move as historic. The policy, which was in its draft stages for more than two years, saw some intense lobbying by industry bodies for adoption of proprietary standards, and opposition from FOSS activists. Most significantly, this policy will lay down the law for all government departments and any technological company (that wishes to do business with the government). Speaking to *The Hindu*, a top official of the Union Ministry of Information Technology said that as part of the institutional mechanism required to implement the policy, the government would soon set up an “enforcement and compliance body.” The policy states that a government-appointed body will look into the selection of open standards and review interim standards (in the absence of an existing open standard). “Currently, we check for compliance through third-party auditors. Such a body will strengthen this to ensure implementation of this progressive vision,” the official said. Further, specifications for standards will be made public (on the existing website: egovstandards.gov.in). A major victory FOSS activists term this a major victory for the Free Software movement in India. “Being in the early stages of e-governance, this will not only impact governance but society as a whole. This is a major victory,” says Gurumurthy Kasinathan of IT4Change, a Bangalore-based NGO. Venkatesh Hariharan, corporate affairs director of Red Hat, a global Open Source technologies firm, says that with this, India joins the global open standards movement. “It's significant because some of the largest green-field e-government projects in the world are in India. Therefore, the standards used by India will make a major difference to the world.” Keywords: e-governance <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article902112.ece#> -- "Freedom is the only law". "Freedom Unplugged" http://www.ilug-tvm.org You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ilug-tvm" group. To control your subscription visit http://groups.google.co.in/group/ilug-tvm/subscribe To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For details visit the google group page: http://groups.google.com/group/ilug-tvm?hl=en
