Kailash Nadh, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Zerodha, has voiced a significant concern regarding the impact of the burgeoning startup ecosystem in India, while according to Nadh, the rapid growth of startups has inadvertently caused substantial damage to the free software and open-source culture within the country. He posits that developers who were once dedicated to community-driven projects have increasingly gravitated towards fast-growing companies, leading to a diminished focus on the collaborative and open-source ethos.
Nadh elaborated in an interview with Moneycontrol that the early 2000s saw a vibrant culture of free software and open-source communities in India. During that period, many developers were motivated to work on projects that were publicly accessible and beneficial to a wider community, while however, with the proliferation of technology startups, attractive opportunities emerged, drawing these developers away. Startups offered promises of rapid career progression, competitive salaries, and the excitement of being part of a high-growth environment. This shift resulted in a decline in the number of developers contributing to the open-source community, thereby undermining the foundational culture that once thrived.
Developer Migration to Fast-Growth Startups
The Unacknowledged Debt of Big Tech
Nadh highlighted a critical imbalance, stating that major technology companies use open-source software to build multi-billion dollar projects. These corporations extensively take advantage of open-source code and frameworks as the bedrock of their products and services, yet often fail to adequately credit or contribute back to the open-source community. He argued that unless these large technology firms actively foster an open-source culture, the movement won't receive the necessary impetus to flourish. This one-sided relationship, where benefits are reaped without commensurate contributions, poses. A long-term threat to the health and sustainability of the open-source ecosystem. Big tech companies, So, bear a significant responsibility to not only use but also give back. To the open-source world, whether through code contributions, financial support, or by encouraging their developers to participate.
Open Source as a Pillar of National Technological Strength
Speaking in the context of the Floss/Fund initiative, which Zerodha launched last year to create a $1 million fund for open source, Nadh underscored the indispensable role of open-source capabilities in strengthening a nation's technological prowess. He asserted, "No country can achieve good capability in technology without open source. You can't build the entire computational universe from scratch. " This statement emphasizes that open source is a fundamental building block for modern technological advancement, and without it, true innovation and self-reliance are unattainable. Relying solely on proprietary solutions stifles local talent and limits a nation's ability to control its technological destiny.
Strategic Risks of Centralized Dependence
Kailash Nadh also cautioned against the strategic risks associated with an over-reliance on a select few SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and cloud providers. He warned that a scenario where access to global SaaS platforms is cut off could create a systemic risk, potentially crippling a country's technological infrastructure and operations, while to mitigate such vulnerabilities, Nadh believes it's crucial to build local capacity, which can only be achieved through a strong open-source ecosystem. Open-source solutions offer greater autonomy and resilience, reducing external dependencies and fostering a more secure digital environment, while this independence is vital for national security and economic stability in an increasingly interconnected world.
A Call for a Sovereign FOSS Fund
To address these pressing concerns, Nadh proposed that India should consider establishing a sovereign FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) Fund. He suggested that this fund should actively involve the community to ensure it effectively strengthens the foundations of open-source infrastructure. A government-backed fund could provide much-needed financial support to open-source projects, incentivizing developers to focus on community-driven work. Such an initiative could Importantly contribute to making India more technologically independent. And secure, fostering a vibrant domestic open-source landscape that can compete globally.
Zerodha's FOSS Fund: A Model for Support
Zerodha's FOSS Fund, now one year into its operation, stands as a commendable step in this direction, while the fund has allocated its entire $1 million amount in two tranches. Projects that received funding in October include prominent names such as Blender, FFmpeg, KDE, Matrix, OpenStreetMap, Wireshark, F-Droid, Kiwix, and Zig. These projects span diverse critical areas, including programming languages, developer libraries, digital mapping, secure communication, and internet infrastructure. Zerodha's initiative demonstrates how the private sector can play a vital role in empowering the open-source community, serving as an inspiring model for both the government and other large corporations to emulate and expand upon.
