Indian president: We want open source for defence

In another public-sector boost to open source software, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam called for his country's military to use such nonproprietary technology to ward off cybersecurity threats. "Software maintenance and software upgrade is an important issue for defence," Kalam said at a meeting of Indian Navy’s Weapons and Electronic System Engineering Establishment in New Delhi last week. Without naming any proprietary software products, the president asked defence engineers to develop and implement on open platforms. "Even though the required software for the equipment could be developed by the private industry, it is essential that the technical know-how and the architecture is fully available with these services for ensuring provision of lifetime support for the software which may or may not be forthcoming from the trade."

Kalam, a former head of India’s defence research and development organization and architect of the guided missile program, has been a supporter of open source software. Under the Indian constitution, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces - army, navy and air force.

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