bharos: BharOS: Everything we know so far about India’s rival to Android

Android and iOS have dominated the mobile OS category, but in recent years a variety of new proprietary operating systems have emerged that have the potential to challenge Android. One such indigenous mobile operating system created by a start-up established by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is said to power his 100 million mobile phone customers in India.

Known as “BharOS”, this software can be loaded onto commercial devices. It is supposed to create a safe environment for users and contribute significantly to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. The BharOS service is currently offered to organizations with strict privacy and security requirements, whose users process sensitive information that requires confidential exchanges via their limited mobile app. Such consumers want private his cloud services delivered over private 5G networks.

JandK Operations Private Limited (JandKops) created BharOS. It was cultivated by the IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, a Section 8 (non-profit) company founded by IIT Madras.

BharOS (NDA) has no default app. This means that consumers are not forced to use unfamiliar or untrusted apps. In addition, this technique allows consumers to restrict access to specific functions and data on their device to trusted apps, giving them more control over what permissions applications have on their device.

BharOS allows users to access trusted apps from a company-specific private app store service (PASS). PASS grants access to hand-picked apps that have been extensively verified and meet the security and privacy standards of specific organizations. This means consumers can be confident that the applications they install are safe to use and have been thoroughly vetted for potential security flaws and privacy issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between BharOS and Android?
   Technically, BharOS is similar to Android’s Google OS. It’s actually built on AOSP (Android Open Source Project).
2. How do you install BharOS on your phone?
   No word yet on when BharOS will be available for download.