Q. What are FOSS India Awards?

FOSS India Awards is an initiative to recognise the FOSS (Free & Open Source Software) developers in India. It has been launched by FOSII (Forum for Open Source Initiatives in India), and is supported by LINUX For You (LFY) magazine.

Q. What's the need for these awards?

By creating a platform for Indian developers to showcase their contributions, we hope to wipe away the rampant misconception that Indians do not contribute to the FOSS ecosystem.

• Since not many Indian FOSS projects are publicly known yet, you have a HIGH chance of winning the FOSS India Awards -- at least in the first year.
• Even if you don't WIN, you, your team and your project will certainly get a lot of publicity and exposure. And, there will be a glamorous certificate too, for you to hang in your loo.
• This exposure will not only make you a hero (or heroine), but may also help your project attract like-minded community members, who would like to invest their talent in taking your project to the next level.
• The most boring one: You can actually help all of us build credibility to the fact that Indians do contribute to the international FOSS ecosystem.

[If you find the way we've put the above rather ridiculous, you're not actually all wrong. In our defence, we're kidnapped by the Vogons while we're writing this. Why else do you think this Web page is hosted on an ASP-powered server?]

Q. What is in there for the winners?

The 20 winners will get Rs 25,000 each -- all cash! Of course, if you want to exchange that with life-time subscriptions of LFY magazine, we will be more than happy.

Q. When will the awards be announced?

The winners will be announced in the first week of February 2008.


Registration Details

Q. Is there a registration fee?

NO. (Ad-speak: This year, it's FREE... So enroll now!)

Q. How do I enroll my project for these awards?

This is the easiest part -- click here.

Q. Does my project need to have a FOSS license?

Errr... Do you really have to be a girl to be crowned Miss India?

(But if you're still not clear, then the answer is YES! FOSS India Awards are for projects released under free/open source licences only).

Q. What kind of projects are eligible?

Any project, sub-project, or an extension to a project is eligible. The important thing is how useful is your work for the targeted user base.

Note: One of the main parameters for judging will be the positive impact of the project on users.

Q. How do I know if my project is eligible or not?

Once you enroll, we will review and revert within a few days. If there are any issues, we will point them out, else will send you an "All OK" message. (If you don't hear from us, feel free to wake us sleepyheads!)

Q. What is the last date for registration?

Registration is open till December 15, 2007.


More specifics

Q. How many awards are there? Is the number of awards fixed?

There will be a minimum of 20 FOSS India Awards. The numbers could go up, if we get sponsors for specific types of awards. e.g. MySQL may want to sponsor an award for FOSS projects that are built upon the MySQL engine.

Q. What do I get by registering?

What we're trying to do is build a central repository of projects Indians are working on -- a directory of Indian FOSS developers and their projects. So that in future it becomes easier to find out if your next door neighbour has ever contributed to FOSS like s/he claims. We also plan to open a forum/discussion board where developers can interact, discuss, embrace & extend or just flame each other. It's all cool! So, what says you? Are you ready to click here?

Q. Can 'just started' or 'dormant' projects also apply?

Yes, everyone can. As long as the project is useful, and initiated by Indians -- it can be submitted. We want to highlight each and every FOSS project developed by an Indian, this year. The 2009 awards may, however, have a change in this criteria.

Q. How do you plan to evaluate the projects?

Oh! That's our "intellectual property" -- we can't reveal that.

On a more serious note, we will first display all enrolled projects to the Indian FOSS community and provide them with the ability to review, rate and discuss amongst themselves.

In addition, FOSII is inviting esteemed members from the community, industry
and academia to become a part of the jury panel. This jury panel will first set the criteria for the evaluation, and then rate the projects based on those criteria, keeping in mind the kind of BUZZ created by them with the community at large.

However, some of the basic parameters for the evaluation will be:

• How significant is the impact of this project? (the most IMP factor)
• How many platforms does it support?
• Is it multi-lingual? Is it multi-lingual friendly?
• How free is it from bugs, errors, etc?
• How easy is it for others to contribute to it? (documentation, etc)

Q. What is FOSII?

FOSII (pronounced foss-eye) stands for Forum for Open Source Initiatives in India. It comprises individuals from various walks of the Linux/OSS ecosystem including the industry, academia, media, government, users and the developer community. What binds them together is their deep interest in driving innovation in and adoption of open source principles, practices and software in India.

FOSII now has mini-forums under it. A separate mini-forum has been formed under FOSII that will oversee the FOSS India Awards.

Q. What is the schedule of events w.r.t. FOSS India Awards?

Registration starts: September 17, 2007
Display of projects for community review: December 1, 2007
Registration closes: December 15, 2007
Community voting begins: December 16, 2007
Community voting ends: January 1, 2008
Jury Review: Mid-January, 2008
Announcement of winners: First week of February, 2008