About BharOS | UPSC Current Affairs

Description

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Context:

While Android and iOS are two of the most well-known mobile operating systems, a new Indian contender in the sector is BharOS.
BharOS is developed by the IIT Madras-incubated company JandK Operations Private Limited.
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), BharOS wants to cater to the approximately 100 crore mobile phone users in India.

Note: A mobile operating system (OS) is software that allows smartphones, tablet PCs (personal computers) and other devices to run applications and programs.

What is BharOS?

It is an indigenous, or homegrown, mobile operating system (OS), like Android or iOS. These systems help smartphone users interact with their device and access its features, while ensuring safety.
BharOS, in particular, is meant to be a contribution towards the idea of a self-reliant India or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by creating a secure OS environment for India-based users.
The OS can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets.

Features of BharOS

While Android and iOS serve more commercial and consumer-oriented use cases, BharOS appears to be more specialized.
BharOS would offer Native Over the Air (NOTA) updates, meaning that security updates and bug fixes will be automatically installed. Users do not have to check for updates and implement them on their own.
BharOS comes with the No Default Apps (NDA) setting, meaning that users do not have to keep or use pre-installed apps in this mobile operating system.
BharOS will use a system known as Private App Store Services (PASS), which will examine and curate the apps that are safe for the users. This means that users should be able to use other apps, as long as they meet BharOS’ PASS standards.