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TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2003 [2]THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIA

Oppn soft on Linux, wants no Windows

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [spacer.gif] [ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2003 11:05:12 PM ]

NEW DELHI: In a sign that the cyber age has well and truly dawned inside Parliament, the Opposition on Thursday warned the government against the Microsoft monopoly over software.

It urged that open source software like Linux be given preference in official procurement.

The government, they said, should not insist on proprietary software while issuing tenders for computers, since open source software is available at one-tenth or even one-twentieth the cost of proprietary software like Windows.

Participating in the discussion on the working of the communications and information technology ministry in the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Prithviraj Chavan referred to competition between proprietary and open source software as a "clash of civilisations".

Referring to the recent developments in Iraq, Chavan pointed out that cheap alternatives to Microsoft are available and that countries like China, France and Germany are sponsoring the development of this software.

He pleaded that the "user should have a choice" of software and that the government should not restrict its procurement only to proprietary products.

Replying to the debate on Friday, IT minister Arun Shourie said that the government was not thinking in terms of a rigid policy framework as the life of technology in the information technology sector is just 20 months.

"It is not a good idea to have a detailed statutory framework" as this could impede growth in this sector... Policy must be technology neutral," the information technology minister said. ______________________________________________________________________