Stats & Facts about Linux in India and the subcontinent

  1. There are over half a million software developers in India.
  2. There are a total of four million PCs in use in India. Less than 10% of those currently run Linux.
  3. India is the leading global exporter of software.
  4. The earliest adoption of open-source software in India, more than 10 years ago, was at military installations and sensitive research sites.
  5. India's National Stock Exchange uses Linux for critical applications.
  6. Hindustan Lever Ltd., India's largest consumer products company (a subsidiary of Unilever), is evaluating Linux for data warehousing, inventory management and e-commerce.
  7. In Pakistan, Linux is mandated for many government organizations. "A few months ago, we asked all offices to move the servers to Linux," said Salman Ansari, an adviser to Pakistan's minister of science and technology in Islamabad. "Those who wanted to use other, more expensive software were permitted to do so only if they could justify it."
  8. Pilot programs expoloring Linux have been undertaken by India's Supreme Court and by the High Courts in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
  9. India's Central Excise Department has moved 1,000 desktops to Linux.
  10. The Delhi Road Transport Office (RTO) has a Linux pilopt program.
  11. C-DAC, the Indian government's supercomputing organization, has moved entirely to Linux.
  12. India's National Stock Exchange was one of the first to use Linux.
  13. India-based corporations advocating Liniux include Asian Paints,IDBI. Reliance, Texas Instruments, the Times of India group (publishers of The Times of India), Raymond, Bombay Dyeing, Godrej Infotech, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Dorr Oliver, Central Railways and Air-India.
  14. Other educational institutions using Linux include the Indian Institute of Technology, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the Sardar Patel Engineering College in Andheri, Mumbai
  15. in Maharashtra, the government has made Linux mandatory to their curriculum.
  16. The Linux India Initiative is an aggressive pro-Linux effort by the Department of Information Technology. It is focussed primarily on academic institutions.
  17. The Linux Localisation Initiative is working to translate Linux documentation into as many regional languages as possible, including Bengali, Marathi, Konkani, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Tulu.

Sources: 1-7, New York Times; 8-15, Business World India; 16, The Inquirer; 17, Linux Banglalore.

Notes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/11/technology/11GATE.html?todaysheadlines