Open source supporters are angry with the Indian government. Here’s why | FactorDaily, November 4, 2016

"Nearly a dozen organisations and top academics have opposed the Indian government’s move to work with Microsoft to build an ambitious online self-learning platform for millions of students. They want the government to use open source alternatives to build the platform. In an open letter to India’s ministry of human resource development, institutions that support open source software as well as academics from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and National Law University, Bangalore, have expressed their anger over the government’s move to hand over the project to Microsoft. The three-year project will cost the government Rs 38 crore. The letter said: “…Basing such a socially important platform on proprietary technologies will result in vendor lock-in and wastage of financial resources.” A committee set up by the government to build the platform, called SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds), had recommended that the state-owned Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) should build the platform using open source technologies...."