While the Indian government’s affinity towards open-source software isn’t entirely new, it has recently become far more pronounced. During a recent kickoff meeting for a nationwide AgriTech project backed by the Ministry of Agriculture, we were surprised by their explicit emphasis on using open-source tools, a must-have on the project’s checklist.

During discussions on the project’s technical architecture, the ministry’s leadership clearly stated their preference for solutions – Open Source, Open Standard, and Interoperable.

In our technical presentation, we faced a challenge when we casually mentioned using the SQL server database; the ministry’s technical lead specifically demanded the use of PostgreSQL. This preference highlights a growing trend of government departments prioritizing open-source technology over proprietary, licensed systems.

While the Government of India has a history of supporting open-source software and there have been a great number of FOSS initiatives and adoption of open-source in the Digital India programme, the current emphasis appears to be driven by those directly involved in project implementation. This suggests a deeper understanding of the benefits and long-term value of open-source solutions. We’ve observed that this has become more evident since the pandemic, which accelerated the adoption of technology solutions globally.

ColoredCow has always favored open-source technology as the foundation of all our projects. We are encouraged and excited to see its adoption expand further, driving innovation and accessibility in nationwide software development initiatives.

Read more about our thoughts on our blogs on open-source. Check out the open-source work we do at ColoredCow from our GitHub profile.