Setting up of National resource Centre in FOSS

National Resource Centre for
Free and Open Source Software
Part-I : Human Resource Development (AU-KBC Research Centre)
Part-II : Product Development (C-DAC, Chennai)

A proposal submitted to the

Department of Information Technology
Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
Government of India
New Delhi

By

AU-KBC Research Centre
Anna University
Chennai
&

C-DAC
Chennai

February 28, 2005.

PROFORMA FOR SUBMITTING R&D PROJECT PROPOSAL
FOR SEEKING FINANCIAL SUPPORT

SUMMARY SHEET

1. Title of Project
National Resource Centre for FOSS Development

2. Organisations : Ana University Chennai
AU-KBC Research Centre,
M.I.T. Campus of Anna University,
Chromepet, Chennai – 600 044.

&
C-DAC
2nd floor, Senthil Tower
AI, First Avennue
Ashok Nagar
Chennai- 600 083.
3.
(i) Chief investigator (AU) :

Name : Prof. C N Krishnan
Designation : Professor of Electronics Engg.
& Director AU-KBC Research Centre.

Department : AU-KBC Research Centre.
Address : MIT Campus of Anna University
: Chennai—600 044

(ii) Chief Investigator (CDAC)

Name : M. R. Rajagopalan

Designation : Programme Coordinator & Head

Department : C-DAC, Chennai

Address : 2nd floor, Senthil Towers
: AI, First Avennue
: Ashok Nagar
: Chennai- 600 083.

4. Nature of Project : Application oriented Research, Design & Development

5. Objective of the Project

The overall Objective of the proposal is to set up a National Resource Centre (NRC) for FOSS(Free and Open Source Software) that will contribute to the growth of FOSS in India through Research and Development, Human Resource Development, Networking and Entrepreneurship Development , as well as serve as the reference point for all FOSS related activities in the country, including the creation and maintenance of a national FOSS Portal.
The following are the more specific objectives of the proposal:
• Human Resource Development for general FOSS capacity building in the formal and non-formal sectors
• Research, Training, Networking, Entrepreneurship development and other support for promotion of FOSS and Localisation efforts in the country keeping in mind affordability and sustainability
• Design, Development and Deployment of FOSS products and technologies in the country with emphasis in the areas of E-governance, School Education and SME s.
• Encourage and promote the development of applications under FOSS & SOA framework in the area of school education, SME’s, and e-governance domain
• Develop generic robust middleware based on OSS that will be relevant for school, SME’s, and e-governance domain
• Cooperate and collaborate with Resource Centre at Mumbai (CDAC & IIT), national and international institutions, research laboratories and other academic /research institutes.
• Organize study programmes, Lectures symposia, conferences exhibitions and similar promotional activities related to FOSS development, including the holding of an annual “FOSS Congress”.
• Establish and maintain a research and reference library in pursuance of the objectives of the centre

6. Expected outcome in physical terms (as applicable)

AUKBC Research Centre, Chennai:

1. Training 100 Teachers from 50 Engineering Colleges to offer 2 Elective Courses, Lab classes and student projects so as to create about 3000 Engineers / MCA’s every year with exposure and training in the area of FOSS.

2. Supporting the various agencies of school education in the formulation of course syllabus and contents for FOSS education in schools.

3. Providing support ( Syllabus, contents, S/w Tool Kits) to agencies in the Non-formal Sector like DOEACC, CDAC and others to enable them conduct FOSS courses for User Groups.

4. Establishing linkages and networking between various FOSS Groups working in the country so as to enable generation of a National level response to emerging International trends in this area. A “ FOSS Congress ” would be held annually at the national level to serve as a platform show casing India’s strength in this field to the world.

5. Coordinating and supporting the work of our research community in the proliferation and promotion of FOSS technologies, resources and culture, and help build an appropriate eco system for it.

6. Coordinating and promoting the work of the different Localisation groups in the country in an appropriate manner to enable easy creation and access of Indian language contents on the Net, and thereby help reduce the problem of the Digital Divide.

7. Collaborating with C-DAC Chennai in the development of FOSS products and technologies, especially in the areas needing research support.

8. Collaborating with C-DAC Chennai in creation of a FOSS Portal addressing the HRD needs of the country.

9. Jointly with C-DAC Chennai, and in collaboration with other agencies of Trade and Industry, help build appropriate Business Models and promote Entrepreneurship in the country in the area of FOSS and Localisation.

10. Keeping a watch on the global global discourse on “ FOSS vs. proprietary Software”( in terms of maintainability, robustness, total cost of ownership, affordability, open standards etc.), and providing the necessary inputs to DIT in this area.

C-DAC, Chennai

11. Integrated Service Oriented Architectural (SOA) framework and security services for e-Governance

12. Linux based Tamil Computer for Schools and FOSS related services

13. Linux / RT Linux enhancements, Middleware for embedded systems

14. Device driver development

15. Testing & development services for all India efforts in FOSS for such products including their feature enhancements for uploading to National FOSS database.

16. Development of National FOSS Resource Portal

17. Provide information and advise on FOSS issues and deployments in e-Governance, Health / Agriculture sector

18. Demonstrate the use of FOSS within SME environments

7. Duration of Project : 3 -Years .

8. Likely End User(s) :
Government Agencies and Departments, Educational and other HRD Institutions, R&D institutions, SME s, Software Industry, etc.

9. Name of other organizations jointly participating in the project :
This is a coordinated activity between Anna University (AU-KBC Research Centre) and C-DAC Chennai, and many other institutions, organizations , enterprises, agencies, departments, groups and individuals interested in this area are expected to join in the specific programs and activities as they develop.

10. Total Budget outlay
Expenditure in Rs. Lakhs
Sl. No Head I Year
12 Months II Year
12 Months III Year
12 Months Total
36 Months
C-DAC AU Total C-DAC AU Total C-DAC AU Total C-DAC AU Total

1 Capital Equipment & Software(non-recurring) 35.00 25.00 60.00 15.00 --- 15.00 10.00 --- 10.00 60.00 25.00 85.00
2 Consumable stores (incl. internet charges, mainte-nance, books etc.) 5.00 8.00 13.00 9.00 7.00 16.00 9.00 5.00 14.00 23.00 20.00 43.00
3 Manpower
34.08 30.00 64.08 34.08 40.00 74.08 34.08 30.00 64.08 102.24 100.00 202.24
4 Travel, Meetings, Conferences & Training 10.00 13.00 23.00 7.00 13.00 20.00 7.00 9.00 16.00 24.00 35.00 59.00
5 Contingencies 10.00 20.00 30.00 7.00 8.00 15.00 7.00 8.00 15.00 24.00 35.00 59.00
6 Overheads 6.59 14.40 20.99 5.47 10.20 15.67 4.70 7.65 12.35 16.76 32.25 49.01

Grand Total 100.67 110.40 211.07 77.55 78.20 155.75 71.78 58.65 130.43 250.00 247.25 497.25

Grand Total : Rs. 497.25 Lacs

FE Component : Nil

11. a) Contribution of Project Implementing/ & other Organisation in Total Budget Outlay :
The contributions in kind from the participating institutions in terms of their expertise and resources have been taken into account while drawing up the above budget.

DIT Contribution : Rs. 497.25 Lacs

Signature of Chief Investigator (CDAC Chennai) Signature of Chief Investigator(AU)
Designation: Program Coordinator &Head. Designation: Director, AU-KBC Centre
Date: 28th Feb 05 Date:28th Feb 05

business

Locked Post

Advanced Search

Watch this post

Do not email me updates for this post Email me updates for this post