Go For Open Source Code, Kalam Tells IT Industry

Pune: : The open source software movement in the country on Wednesday received a shot in the arm with President APJ Abdul Kalam goading the Indian IT industry to look at open source code instead of depending on proprietary solutions.

Dr Kalam also called for information technology that was uniquely designed for India.

“In India, open source code software will have to come and stay in a big way for the benefit of the people. Open source software needs to be built for further spread of IT and the impact it would have on society,” Dr Kalam said.

Dr Kalam was speaking at the International Institute of Information Technology at Pune IT Park, Hinjawadi on Wednesday. Dr Kalam was on a day-long visit to education and IT institutions in the city.

Dr Kalam called for a greater role of language technology in spreading IT in the country.

There was a need to develop language-independent search engines so that those working in Indian languages are not deprived of the vast databases and knowledge, he pointed out.

On the competitiveness of the Indian IT industry, the President said India with 500,000 people earned $10 billion in exports while the size of the domestic market was $2 billion even as a typical international software company with 50,000 employees earns $20 billion through its worldwide operations.

The domestic IT segment can be increased through strong and sustainable use of IT in education, health and governance.

It was necessary to bring out a road map to take IT enabled services in education, health and governance to rural India, he said.

“Think different,” was the President’s message to the IT industry. Instead of being proud of working for 260 Fortune 500 companies, Indian industry should dream of being among the 260 Fortune 500 companies, he said. The Indian IT industry should be a $100 billion industry in eight to ten years, he added.

The International Institute of Information Technology, founded by Finolex Group chairman PP Chhabria and the Hope Foundation, a trust promoted by Finolex, was on Wednesday dedicated to the nation by the President. Finolex has invested Rs 35 crore in the institute.