Indian adoption of Linux surges

Linux is reaching further into government offices, with several state and private organisations in India adopting the open-source operating system.

Seven government and private entities in India plan to use the Linux operating system to run Oracle applications, the business software maker said
this week. The agencies include the state-owned Central Bank of India, government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam, the treasury department in
West Bengal state and two private banks.

Using Linux would result in savings of up to 30 percent in information technology expenses for the Central Bank of India, officials said. That
translates into savings of $4m (£2.11m) per year.