IIT-Madras develops indigenous mobile operating system: Details

BharOS has been developed by JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops) – a non-profit organization established by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation. The Foundation is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NMICPS).

BharOS provides access to trusted apps from organization-specific Private App Store Services (PASS). A PASS provides access to a curated list of apps that have been thoroughly screened and have met certain security and privacy standards of organizations.

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 concerns.

Another striking feature of BharOS is that it comes with No Default Apps (NDA). This will give users a choice to not use the app they don’t trust. Additionally, it allows them to have more control over the permissions that apps have on their device, as they can choose to only allow apps that they trust to access certain features or data on their device.

At present, BharOS services are being provided to organizations that have stringent privacy and security requirements, and whose users handle sensitive information and require access to private cloud services through private 5G networks.

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “BharOS Service is a Mobile Operating System built on a foundation of trust, with a focus on providing users more freedom, control, and flexibility to choose and use only the apps that fit their needs. This innovative system promises to revolutionise the way users think about security and privacy on their mobile devices.”

“IIT Madras looks forward to working closely with many more private industry, Government agencies, Strategic agencies and Telecom Service Providers to increase the usage and adoption of BharOS in our Country,” he further added.

Karthik Ayyar, Director, JandK Operations Pvt Ltd., the start-up that developed this Mobile Operating System, said, “In addition, 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. With NDA, PASS, and NOTA, BharOS ensures that Indian mobile phones are trustworthy.”