The Government of India is planning to come up with a policy that can facilitate an ecosystem for the industry to develop an indigenous operating system (OS) as an alternative to Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said mobile phones are dominated by only two operating systems – Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
He said there is tremendous interest in MeitY and in the Government of India to even create a new handset OS. The government is in talks with various stakeholders and is looking at a policy for the same.
The government is looking for capabilities within start-up and academic ecosystems for the development of the indigenous operating system (OS).
“If there is some real capability then we will be very much interested in developing that area because that will create an alternative to iOS and Android which then an Indian brand can grow,” said Chandrasekhar.
The minister also said most of the policies and policy tools are being re-looked at in the context of reimagining goals and ambitions.
Minister for Communications and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar have also released the second volume of Vision Document on Electronics Manufacturing. The document details a road map for achieving USD 300 billion in electronics manufacturing in the country by 2026.
