<s>
The	O
history	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
in	I-Application
India	I-Application
can	O
be	O
seen	O
from	O
three	O
different	O
perspectives	O
-	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
usage	O
,	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
communities	O
,	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
policies	O
by	O
the	O
governments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
India	O
was	O
quite	O
late	O
to	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
scene	O
with	O
adoption	O
and	O
penetration	O
growing	O
towards	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
with	O
the	O
formation	O
of	O
pockets	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
communities	O
spread	O
across	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
communities	O
were	O
typically	O
centered	O
around	O
educational	O
institutions	O
or	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
supporting	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Foundation	I-Application
of	I-Application
India	I-Application
,	O
was	O
formed	O
in	O
2001	O
to	O
promote	O
the	O
use	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
in	I-Application
India	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
state	O
governments	O
,	O
notably	O
Kerala	O
and	O
Tamil	O
Nadu	O
created	O
policies	O
on	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
in	O
state	O
level	O
organizations	O
and	O
launched	O
ambitions	O
projects	O
like	O
IT	O
@School	O
,	O
Elcot	O
OpenSuse	O
migration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
was	O
almost	O
synonymous	O
with	O
Linux	O
and	O
associated	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
gaining	O
popularity	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
applications	O
like	O
Firefox	O
or	O
operating	O
systems	O
like	O
Android	O
it	O
has	O
become	O
quite	O
difficult	O
to	O
quantify	O
the	O
user	O
base	O
for	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
State	O
of	O
FOSS	B-License
in	O
India	O
report	O
,	O
"	O
India	O
still	O
lags	O
behind	O
the	O
global	O
landscape	O
in	O
building	O
sustainable	O
home-grown	O
projects	O
and	O
needs	O
a	O
strategic	O
plan	O
to	O
incubate	O
and	O
proliferate	O
domestic	O
FOSS	B-License
innovations	O
worldwide	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3.2	O
Source	O
code	O
shall	O
be	O
free	O
from	O
any	O
royalty.Although	O
the	O
policy	O
only	O
talks	O
about	O
open	O
source	O
software	O
and	O
not	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
per	O
se	O
,	O
the	O
conditions	O
requiring	O
that	O
the	O
source	O
be	O
available	O
for	O
modifications	O
and	O
redistributions	O
aligns	O
with	O
the	O
licensing	O
requirements	O
of	O
Free	B-License
and	I-License
Open	I-License
Source	I-License
Software	I-License
and	O
thereby	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
give	O
a	O
big	O
boost	O
to	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
in	O
the	O
government	O
organizations	O
in	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
government	O
of	O
Kerala	O
released	O
its	O
ICT	O
policy	O
where	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
objectives	O
was	O
to	O
mandate	O
appropriate	O
use	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
in	O
all	O
ICT	O
initiatives.The	O
Government	O
realizes	O
that	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
presents	O
a	O
unique	O
opportunity	O
in	O
building	O
a	O
truly	O
egalitarian	O
knowledge	O
society	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Government	O
will	O
take	O
all	O
efforts	O
to	O
develop	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
and	O
Free	O
Knowledge	O
and	O
shall	O
encourage	O
and	O
mandate	O
the	O
appropriate	O
use	O
of	O
Free	B-Application
Software	I-Application
in	O
all	O
ICT	O
initiatives.The	O
state	O
of	O
Kerala	O
has	O
a	O
rich	O
history	B-Application
of	I-Application
free	I-Application
software	I-Application
activism	I-Application
which	O
had	O
resulted	O
in	O
several	O
internationally	O
visible	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
initiatives	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
IT	O
policy	O
that	O
is	O
biased	O
towards	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
custom	O
LInux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
called	O
the	O
KITE	O
GNU/Linux	O
(	O
previously	O
known	O
as	O
IT	O
@School	O
GNU/Linux	O
)	O
was	O
rolled	O
out	O
across	O
12000	O
public	O
schools	O
in	O
the	O
state	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
this	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bharat	B-Application
Operating	I-Application
System	I-Application
Solutions	I-Application
(	O
BOSS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
the	O
National	O
Resource	O
Centre	O
for	O
Free/Open	B-License
Source	I-License
Software	I-License
(	O
NRCFOSS	O
)	O
of	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
