5 Years of FOSS United

"Scratch your own itch" is a common saying in the Free and Open Source community and elsewhere.

In January 2020, Rushabh, CEO of Frappe, and Kailash, CTO of Zerodha, decided to build a community of free and open source software (FOSS) developers in India because they wanted to be part of one, and only a few existed. There were small, focused groups that existed in silos and were difficult to discover.

Five years later, in 2025, we see a FOSS community that is both local and interconnected at the national level under one umbrella: FOSS United. At the moment, we can witness multiple FOSS activities happening across the country, at both city and university levels. The proof is on our event timeline and the grants page.

However, no community or organisation can grow properly unless the people involved are committed to nurturing it like a baby. FOSS United has been growing since its inception because the people who are part of it are dedicated to making it happen. So, let's talk about the people.

People

Currently, FOSS United has eight full-time staff members under the FOSS United Foundation, a non-profit organization. However, these eight full-time staff members represent only about 5% of the effort needed to maintain and build upon what we have. The majority of the growth comes from volunteers who help the community expand day by day. People from all parts of the country, not just major cities like Bangalore or Delhi, contribute. From Coimbatore to Nashik, from Lucknow to Srinagar, and from Pondicherry, individuals believe in the importance of growing this community. Volunteers run city communities and college clubs, help us host FOSS hackathons and conferences, and work to bring people together, making the community bigger and better connected.

There are too many people to thank in this blog post, but I want to highlight the major programs that FOSS United has, where these individuals dedicate their time.

Major Programs

1. Events: Most of the discovery and connections happen through in-person events organised and supported by FOSS United regularly across the country. This is the backbone of our success in building FOSS United. Unless people meet, the bond within the community does not strengthen. A weak bond cannot produce great results. Our flagship event, the IndiaFOSS Conference, takes place every September to bring everyone under one roof.
2. FOSS Clubs: The student-run FOSS Clubs aim to help students get started with using and contributing to FOSS. Currently, we actively support over 22 FOSS Clubs.
3. FOSS Grants: Most of the groundbreaking FOSS projects come from the West, with very few originating in India. Sustained support is essential for those attempting to create FOSS in India, so they do not give up on their project due to lack of financial support. Through the FOSS United Grants, we have been able to support niche projects that "must exist" but struggle to find the deserved support. 

What's Next?

While it is hard to predict, we definitely aim to do the following:

1. Strengthen our processes to run existing activities.
2. Increase focus on FOSS Clubs and student-related activities.
3. Technology Policy: As governance and welfare are increasingly digitised, it is a no-brainer that the FOSS Community needs to come together, equipping ourselves with the means to understand and contribute proactively to the Tech-Policy discourse, advocating for FOSS.  
4. Promote diversity by bringing in perspectives from people with diverse backgrounds, such as music developers, hardware developers, policymakers, government officials, and individuals from remote areas.
5. Improve FOSS United governance by involving more people in decision-making positions to participate in building the FOSS community.

The presentation of our 5th year Anniversary meetup can be found here.

Edited by Ashlesh Biradar and Ansh Arora.