India’s open source ecosystem is producing privacy-focused apps, ERP platforms, and programmable hardware, empowering users, businesses, and developers while taking on global tech giants like Google and SAP.
Bengaluru recently hosted the 5th edition of IndiaFOSS, showcasing India’s growing prowess in open source software and hardware. Leading the charge is Ente, founded by ex-Google engineer Vishnu Mohandas. The platform offers a privacy-first alternative to Google Photos, giving users full control of their data with 10GB free storage and pay-for-extra options. Apps run seamlessly across Android, iOS, web, and desktop using Flutter and TypeScript/React. “We’re very ambitious. What’s the point of doing anything small?” Mohandas said. The platform has already stored over 300 million photos and handles around 1 million new uploads daily.
In the enterprise software space, Frappe has emerged as a fully open source rival to SAP. COO Neha Sankhe highlights that ERPNext, built on the Frappe Framework, powers thousands of businesses worldwide with finance, inventory, CRM, HR, and helpdesk modules. “We are 100% open source. We are not partially open source who then force you to pay to unlock features,” she explained.
Mecha Systems is bringing open source to hardware with Mecha Comet, a programmable handheld Linux computer. Founder Shoaib Merchant says, “Smartphones are amazing, but you can only do what the manufacturer allows. We want a computer that lets you go through all the layers—hardware and low-level software—and install anything you want.”
Open source project management is being reshaped by Plane Software, whose community edition is free and self-hosted, catering to regulated industries. On the creative front, Scrite provides an open source screenwriting app supporting multiple Indian languages, with tens of thousands of users worldwide.
Zerodha CTO Kailash Nadh notes, “When we start building high-quality stuff here in India rather than just consuming what is made elsewhere, it automatically and implicitly deepens our tech capacity as a society.”
India’s open source movement is not just challenging global giants—it is also fostering innovation, education, and enterprise freedom across the country.
