BharOS: Everything about India's indigenous mobile operating system

The BharOS was developed by JandKops, which has been incubated by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, a Section 8 (Not for Profit) Company established by IIT Madras

IIT Madras-incubated firm, JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops), has developed an indigenous mobile operating system called BharOS. The software can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets. It provides a secure environment for users and is a significant contribution towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', said its developers in a statement.

"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," said Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras.

Here is everything about the BharOS, an India’s indigenous operating system for mobile devices

BharOS: Availability and future plans

The BharOS is a security-focused operating system, which is currently being provided to organisations that have stringent privacy and security requirements. Its developers, IIT Madras, said to have plans to work closely with private industry, government agencies, strategic agencies and telecom service providers to increase the usage and adoption of BharOS in the country.

BharOS: What’s new and different

No default apps and Private App Store Services (PASS) are among the salient features detailed by IIT Madras about the BharOS. No default apps essentially means the control rests with users to install apps of choice. With no default apps, users would have the choice to install and use only the apps they trust and want to use. According to IIT Madras, this approach allows users to have more control over the permissions that apps have on their device, as they can choose to allow apps that they trust to access certain features or data on their device.

Coming to the PASS, it seems to be a security-focused feature aimed at enterprise users. In the PASS, BharOS provides access to a curated list of apps that have met certain security and privacy standards of organisations. Only the apps checked for any potential security vulnerabilities or privacy concerns are listed in the PASS for users to install on their mobile devices.

Besides the above listed feature, BharOS offers 'Native Over The Air' (NOTA) updates to ensure that the supported devices get the latest version of the operating system.