-------- Original Message --------
From: Milind Oka <[email protected]>
Sent: 2015, ഡിസംബർ 26 5:17:35 PM IST
To: "GNU/Linux Users Group, Mumbai, India" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [ILUG-BOM] Today, 24 Dec - Mahacharcha - DD-Sahyadri - 7:15 pm to
8:15 pm - Welcome BOSS and FOSS
I had filed an RTI in mantralaya with the following questions
1. Total Expenditures on the purchase (including update or license fee)
of Operating system Microsoft Windows all versions in the financial year
1013-14
2. Total Expenditures on the purchase (including update or license fee)
of Microsoft Office all versions in the financial year 1013-14.
3. Total numbers of personal computers in working computers at present.
4. Total number of personal computers running on free and open source
operating system
The answer I obtained is as follows.
1. OS pre-installed so no separate expenditure incurred
2 MS Office 2,45,69296/- Rs
3 There are 31 PC's running in DIT
4. Nil
I filed in DIT section hoping that DIT will approve all purchases in
mantralaya hence I will get total expediture in mantralaya.
But it seems they have given purchases only in DIT.
But then how 31 PC's require 2,45,69296/- Rs Software ?
Our education policy clearly recommends FOSS right from 2012 and states
that no proprietary product names are to be referred in curriculum.
This has been violated seriously for last three years.
I have filed a Public Interest Litigation in Bombay High court (Next
Date is 4 Feb 15)
PIL/141/2015 on 6 Aug 2015.
The petitioner submits that he was required to complete MS-ACIT course
in order to get selection grade. Accordingly the petitioner took
admission to MS-ACIT course in July 2011. During the course the
Petitioner was shocked to realize that the course seemed nothing but an
advertisement of proprietary software and the course was using teachers
as instruments to promote proprietary software. It was a serious
violation of National Policy on ICT in School Education which clearly
recommends FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) instead of Proprietary
software.
The Petitioner started making teachers aware of this violation as he
realized that the implications of this violation of policy would cause a
huge damage to our Education System, to the Society and in turn to our
beloved Nation. But due to lack of sufficient knowledge of ICT, most of
the teachers were ignorant and could not understand the importance of
this issue.
The petitioner kept on studying this issue for a long time and recently
decided to raise it after procuring a Notification of MHRD School-5
section, dated 17.06.14 (Annexure A) which supported the views of the
petitioner in toto.
Further he learnt that our country has been taking tremendous efforts
through C-DAC (Centre of Development of Advanced Computing, Ministry of
Information and Technology) to promote FOSS (Free and Open Source
Software) in all fields including Education by releasing India’s own
Free and Open Source Operating System with pre-installed software:
“Bharat Operating System Solutions” or BOSS an Indianized Version of
Linux. (www.bosslinux.in )
The petitioner has been using BOSS 5.0 (Codenamed Anokha) for last six
months and he is proud to state here that our country’s own operating
system BOSS is a perfect replacement for other proprietary operating
systems.
To consolidate his claim he wrote to Honorable Chief Minister of
Tamilnadu and sought a feedback regarding BOSS as the Tamilnadu
Government has been using BOSS in all its offices since 12.03.2014. Copy
of the same is annexed and marked as Annexure – B to this Petition. The
petitioner is pleased to inform to this Honorable Court that in the
feedback, Tamilnadu Government officially stated that BOSS is indeed a
perfect replacement for any Proprietary Operating System. Copy of the
same is annexed and marked as Annexure – C to this Petition.
The petitioner submits that the Respondent No. 2 state has not included
India’s Own competent EduBOSS (a special version of BOSS for Education)
or BOSS in MS-ACIT syllabus for teachers and instead preferred to
violate the National Policy in ICT Education by inviting proprietary
software.
The petitioner submits that the honorable Supreme Court of India is
using a Free and Open Source Operating System Ubuntu Linux for all
courts in the country including all courts in Maharashtra.
To avoid further damage to Education System, to save Huge Public Funds
and to avoid Permanent Dependency on proprietary software vendors, the
petitioner has no alternative than to resort file the present Public
Interest Litigation.
Relief (s) prayed for:-
The Petitioner therefore prays that:
i) That this Hon’ble Court be pleased to invoke it’s Writ Jurisdiction
under article 226 of the Constitution of India and issue a Writ of
Mandamus or any other Writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus
and be pleased to :
a) To direct Respondent No. 2 State of Maharashtra to follow Annexure –
A by removing all proprietary software product names from the syllabi of
MSA-CIT / MS-CIT (Maharashtra State Certificate in Information
Technology), schools, colleges, universities and other Govt. recognized
education institutions and other State Govt. offices and institutions.
b) To stay the purchased order issued by Govt. of Maharashtra to
Proprietary Software Vendors.
c) To take action against the Govt. officers who have introduced
Proprietary Software Vendors in spite of directions issued in Annexure –
A on 17.06.2014 by Central Govt. to use FOSS.
d) To discontinue contracts awarded to Proprietary Software companies
who violated directions of Union of India given in Annexure – A.
ii) For ad-interim, interim reliefs in terms of prayer clause I (b) (c),
& (d) hereinabove.
For such other and further reliefs as deemed fit and proper by this
Hon’ble Court on the facts and circumstances of the case.
Cost of this Petition be provided for.
On 12/24/15 11:04, Rushabh Mehta wrote:
> Just wanted to check if anyone has done a recent survey on how much Gov of
> Mah spends annually on licenses to MS/Oracle/SAP etc to build a case for Free
> Software.
>
> Also if there are any old timers around, was the Kerala FOSS model tried to
> be replicated here with insistence of Free Software in Schools?
>
> thanks,
> Rushabh
>
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