Context: Developed by an IIT Madras-incubated startup, BharOS is being pitched as India’s answer to the Google-owned Android and Apple’s iOS, the two most dominant mobile operating systems in the world.
About BharOS:
BharOS is an Android Open Source Project and was developed by JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops), a non-profit organisation incubated at IIT Madras.
The project aims to reduce the dependence on foreign OS in smartphones and promote the use of locally developed technology.
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the indigenous mobile operating system wants to cater to the approximately 100 crore mobile phone users in India.
Union Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister along with Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology successfully tested the ‘BharOS’, a Made In India mobile operating system developed by IIT Madras.
What sets BharOS apart from Android, is that it is free from Google Services and Apps.
Google has used its preinstalled apps and services to collect data, sometimes without explicitly asking a user.
Similarly, other apps from Google’s Play Store share data with third-party services.
BharOS does not come with any such preinstalled services or apps, and hence, is deemed to be more secure.
