Comments on: FOSS for GOI supported project for Power Sector

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:59:10 +0000

It is specifically written here that an Open Source Version of OS is
preferred and as written above open standards have been given due importance.
It has also been mentioned that application software along with source code (only for customized software solutions) shall need to be supplied to the power utility by the implementation agency.
But so what, the lobby groups are strong and have money.
Until and unless we organise ourself and use each and every contact the good intentions in SRS prepared by MoP GoI will go down the drain. And the proprietary vendors will have another success story, “See we told you so, FLOSS does not work and not a single power utility company in India used it for R-APDRP”.

By: Venkatesh Hariharan

Venkatesh Hariharan — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:50:23 +0000

Excellent post. As a tax payer, I am dismayed so see public money being wasted in reinventing the wheel again and again and again. What we need to build are code repositories for common government applications like treasury, municipal management etc and issue diktats that vendors build their services around these code repositories. In the US, hospitals have been (re)using the VistA (Veterans health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) software developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The sourcecode for this software is available at www.sourceforge.net/projects/openvista . The new American CTO, Aneesh Chopra “gets” what open source is all about:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10142626-38.html

The commonwealth of Virginia is undertaking a variety of
initiatives to improve aspects of governance in areas like health care
and education, said Aneesh Chopra, Virginia’s secretary of technology.

On February 23, the commonwealth will debut the Virginia physics
“flexbook,” Chopra said–Web-based instructional materials that cover
areas of physics in which Virginia’s traditional curriculum is lacking.

The commonwealth partnered with the nonprofit CK-12 Foundation to
provide an open-source platform on which new content can be quickly
published. Virginia officials solicited contributions to the text from
around the country. The contributions were subject to a series of
academic reviews.

“Virginia will have its first physics flexbook for teachers to rip,
mix, and burn and to incorporate into their educational coursework,”
Chopra said.

He said the process was faster than the traditional means of
changing coursework, and it was one example of how a robust information
technology infrastructure was helping the government better serve people.

“You can make information more accessible, collaborate more, and
people can do more to hold their elected officials more accountable,”
Chopra said.

Why are we using old, ancient, pathetically fragmented, hideously expensive proprietary software development models when far superior models exist? I agree that it is time to start a serious campaign and get governments to use the open source development model based on Collaborative Innovation and not just use open source software. My article on Collaborative Innovation is at:

www.osindia.blogspot.com/2009/02/collaborative-innovation-video.html

Thanks for this nice post. If the Indian government takes your advice, it will save thousands of crores of rupees!

By: Sudev Barar

Sudev Barar — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:42:50 +0000

The irony is that these very agencies pay for entire development of systems, purchase of all (software development) tools and software but at end of the project neither code nor tools are left with them to go forward. The commercial vendors prefer complete lock-in and do not want the client who has paid for the entire code base to even own it or be able to transfer it to another department.

Use of FLOSS or otherwise is additional issue. But a complete system paid for by one agency can not be used by another. Even when the original client technically has purchased (and not licensed) the development of software. The tenders are for purchase and not licensing of software.

Now add the fat to fire by adding further benefits of using FLOSS tools and systems!

By: Pritpal Singh Gohalwaria

Pritpal Singh Gohalwaria — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:39:53 +0000

In the era when all the governments worldwide are welcoming the open source software its pity that this State Electricity Board is backing the efforts of a vendor to exempt this project from FOSS. Instead of asking all the power utilities to develop their own software why MOP not make a software based on FOSS at central level; ask state utilities to implement the same with any modifications required for local needs. In case Board’s top brass don’t listen we should go for a PIL, for which i am ready to do the needful. Please let me know about the developments.