The Indian government announced a policy yesterday that makes it mandatory to use open-source software in building apps and services, in an effort to “ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs.”

The new policy [PDF] states that all government organizations must include a requirement for their software suppliers to consider open-source options when implementing e-governance applications and systems.

The move will bring the Indian government in line with other countries including the US, UK and Germany that opt for open-source software over proprietary tools.

➤ Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India [Department Of Electronics & Information Technology via The Economic Times]

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