BharOS

Blog Credit: Trupti Thakur

Image Courtesy: Google

The BharOS is an operating system used in mobile phones. It was developed by JandK Operations Private Limited. IIT Madras was the pioneer in developing the app. And IIT Madras developed it through its JandK organization. Basically, JandK is a non-profit private organization. The IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies launched this private organization along with others. It is funded by the Science and Technology department of the Government of India.

What is BharOS?

The main objective of BharOS operating system is security. The OS is unique as it allows only safe and trusted applications to be installed on the OS. BharOS screens the applications before installation begins. If the app is unsafe, the OS doesn’t provide access.

Key Features of BharOS

• There are No Default Apps in the OS. Default apps are those applications that come with OS. The user cannot uninstall them. For instance, Gmaps, GMAIL, and other Google Applications are the default apps of Android OS. You cannot uninstall them even if you are not using them. The drawback of default apps is memory consumption. If the user is not using these apps, they drain out user data, memory, and power
• It provides strict security features and therefore is apt for 5G networks. Users willing to use cloud services will be benefited the most from the app
• The OS provides more control to the users. Applications get installed on the OS only after taking user permission. This does not happen in Android and iOS.

Access to PASS

With BharOS, users get free access to PASS. PASS means Private App Store Service. PASS has a list of curated apps. Meaning the apps in PASS are of a high standard and secure. They are already screened for malware, hacking issues, password protection, and other security features.

Launched under NMICPS

JandK launched the app under NMICPS, National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. It operates under the DST of the Science and Technology Ministry. NMICPS aims to provide training in cyber technologies and prepare youth to face challenges in the field.

 

 

BharOS is a mobile operating system designed by IIT Madras. It is an Indian government funded project to develop a free and open-source operating system (OS) for use in government and public systems. The Indian express said it appears to be a forked version of Android.  Since “BharOS can run most apps” it is presumably based on the Android Open Source Project.

History

Google is facing a crackdown from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for its practices pertaining to its Android mobile operating system.  have been several demands for the need for an Indian app store that does not levy exorbitant fees for sales.  The BharOS project aims to reduce the dependence on foreign operating systems in smartphones and promote the use of locally developed technology. It was developed by JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops), which was incubated at IIT Madras.^] Minister for telecommunications and information technology Ashwini Vaishaw and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the operating system in a public event.

Features

BharOS targets security-conscious groups. BharOS does not come with any preinstalled services or apps.  This approach gives the user more freedom and control over the permissions that are available to apps on their device. Users can choose to grant permissions only to apps that they require to access certain features or data on their device. The software can be installed on commercially available handsets, providing users with a secure environment, the company stated in a statement. The new operating system will provide access to trusted apps via organisation-specific Private App Store Services (PASS), which is a list of curated apps that meet security and privacy standards. Security updates and bug fixes will be automatically installed rather than users having to manually check for updates and install them.

 

Blog By: Trupti Thakur