Is BharOS Really Going to Compete Against Android OS?

BharatOS, often known as "BharOS," is a new operating system that was just unveiled by India's IT minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. This announcement was made in response to the Competition Commission of India fining Google Rs 1337 crore for allegedly engaging in unfair commercial practices in relation to Android, the operating system powering the majority of smartphones in the nation.

What exactly is BharOS?

The fact that BharOS is Android is interesting. As part of the Android Open Source Project (ASOP), Google makes Android available for free. BharOS is built on top of ASOP, which was created by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. Access to Google's cloud services and applications is denied by ASOP.

In addition, the Play Store, YouTube, Google Maps, Chrome, Search, and Google Pay can only be accessed if a manufacturer agrees to preload and make these applications the default on the device.

The government claims that some Google services will be accessible on BharOS, an Android fork. According to Vaishnaw, work has begun to localize the app ecosystem and create an app store. Additionally, he refers to a brand-new chipset architecture based on the RISC-V and ARM architectures.

Instead of developing their own Android skin on top of what Google offers, third-party manufacturers will be able to use a private app store accessible through BharOS. It will receive updates over the air and have fewer preloaded applications, or "bloatware," which reduces storage. Additionally, the government asserts that it will offer greater privacy than Android.

BhartOS is currently available for use by institutions; however, staff and students at IIT Madras as well as the government can utilize it. However, this operating system is not available for purchase from any manufacturer.

Why BharOS now?

Two things are true here. The Play Store, Google Drive, YouTube, Gmail, Google Search, and Google Docs are the most sought-after Google applications. Second, these applications are not open source, which is also true. Google is able to collect data and make money from ads through these apps.

The fact that Google is the largest advertising company in the world is at the heart of the company's business model. Global criticism of Google's monopolistic practices is widespread. The Department of Justice in the United States is also looking into ways to dismantle Google, particularly its advertising division.

Google's practices have been criticized by numerous local app developers as stifling competition. Google has been the target of vehement criticism from MapmyIndia and Indus OS, which operates the Indus App Bazaar. MapmyIndia has been around for a long time, and in some ways, its product may be superior to Google Maps, particularly for India.

However, MapmyIndia's services are not given adequate exposure due to the fact that Android uses Google Maps as its default mapping software. Similar to Indus OS, it has a curated app store but cannot compete with the enormous Google Play Store.

Developers also want to make use of their payment gateways. They also want to pay less in commissions to Google, which has the power to eliminate their existence on the grid by preventing their app from appearing in its store.

Since BharOS is based on Android, which makes use of the Linux kernel, it is unlikely that things will change. Without the boost of Google Mobile Services, Android's open-source components become less appealing.