Lok Sabha Question No. 2310 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-15
Subject: Mobile Operating System (BharatOS)
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Prataprao  Jadhav, Sudheer Gupta, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Shrirang Appa Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2310

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 15.03.2023

## MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM  (BharOS)

2310:  DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  IIT  Madras  has  developed  an  indigenous  mobile  operating  system  named "BharOS" in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  salient  features  of  the  "BharOS"  operating system;
- (c) the details of the manner in which this new operating system is likely to be beneficial for the common man in the country;
- (d) the details of the manner in which this operating system will reduce the dependency of smart phone users on foreign operating system like android and apple etc. and how it is different from these operating systems;
- (e) whether the Government has set up any criteria for the different institutions for using BharatOS operating system in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  encourage  the  people  to  use  the  indigenous mobile operating system in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

- (a): Yes, Sir.
- (b):  Salient feature of the 'BharOS' are listed below:
-  BharOS Mobile Operating System has been built on a foundation of trust, with a focus on providing users more freedom, control and flexibility to choose and use only the apps which are required.
-  BharOS  comes  with  No  Default  Apps  (NDA).  This  means  that  users  are  not forced to use apps that they may not be familiar with or that they may not trust. Additionally,  user  can  choose  to  only  allow  apps  that  they  trust  to  access certain features or data on their device.
-  BharOS  provides  access  to  trusted  apps  from  Private  App  Store  Services (PASS).  PASS  provides  access  to  a  curated  list  of  apps  that  have  been thoroughly  vetted  and  have  met  certain  security  and  privacy  standards  of organisations.  This  means  users  can  be  confident  that  the  apps  they  are installing  are  safe  to  use  and  have  been  checked  for  any  potential  security vulnerabilities or privacy.
-  BharOS offers 'Native Over The Air' (NOTA) updates that can help to keep the devices secure. NOTA updates  are automatically downloaded and installed on the device, without the need for the user to manually initiate the process. This ensures  that  the  device  is  always  running  the  latest  version  of  the  operating system, which includes the latest security patches and bug fixes.

(c) and (d): BharOS is an indigenous mobile Operating System developed with a trusted boot facility.  The  'BharOS'  can  work  with  Private  Secure  Applications  Store  to  load  the applications of user's choice. All these features are crucial for the cyber security and privacy of the end users.

(e): No, Sir.  Government has not set up any criteria for the different institutions for using BharatOS operating system in the country.

(f): Mobile  Operating  System  is  not  directly  sourced/  procured  by  the  people  as  mobile operating system is pre-loaded in the mobile devices by the mobile manufactures.

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