November 2025

Hello FOSS Enthusiast!
Welcome to our monthly newsletter from FOSS United!
Your journey into the vibrant world of Free and Open Source Software begins here.
We're excited to bring you the freshest updates, news, exciting projects, policy tweaks, and the buzz around our ongoing initiatives.

Highlights from FOSS United

Wondering what's happening in FOSS United? Here are a few updates from our side:

- Rethinking Grants and some more 💰

To date, we’ve disbursed over INR 2.5 Crore towards strengthening the Indian FOSS ecosystem. With lessons from the last five years and multiple conversations with grantees, the community, and GB members, coupled with insights from the Maintainers Summit, we’re cooking up some changes to the FU Grants program.

Check out the first draft of the FU Grants Thesis and tell us what you think!
In line with this vision, we’ve also put together an exclusive community for Indian FOSS maintainers — check it out here.

FOSS United Grant Thesis →

• GCPP Tech+Policy Batch 11 scholarships are here!

  Reason #1839 why you, as a technologist, should care about tech policy and build capacity to engage in these conversations — the Zoho–Digital Sovereignty discourse.

  In a report by The Hindu, it was revealed that 12 lakh Union government employee accounts migrated to Zoho to “avoid open-source apps that could compromise security.”
  Not only is this misinformation, it contradicts the Union’s own Policy on Adoption of OSS for Govt. of India.

  Who decides what software powers a nation? Who defines “secure”?
  These are political, ethical, and economic questions — and on that note, applications for the GCPP Tech+Policy Course (Batch 11) are open! Scholarships are available.
  Early Bird Deadline: 7 December 2025.

  Further readings:

  • The answer to Big Tech is not Indian Big Tech – Indian Express
  • India’s Search for Digital Sovereignty – TechPolicy Press
  • KITE’s CEO on Digital Sovereignty
    

• This month in Forklore ✨

  We’ve been busy talking to maintainers — the people pouring their nights and weekends into projects you probably use.

  • Shivani Bhardwaj and Suricata
  • Saket Choudhary and pysradb
  • Hariharan Umapathi and open-tamil-php
  • Rishikesh Ajit and Standard Agent

  Want to know which files they’d delete if no one was watching? Or what advice they’d whisper to their 20-year-old selves?
  Head to forklore.in and browse the confessions.
  Know someone who should be featured? Add to the lore.

• First Commit with Sreelakshmi Jayarajan!

  On the third episode of First Commit by FOSS Club, we feature Sreelakshmi Jayarajan.
  These sessions help students make their first open-source contributions with mentorship from seasoned contributors. After two successful sessions this year, the third one is happening this Saturday! Learn more →

• SFLC.in wins EFF Award 2025!

  Speaking of defending digital freedoms, SFLC.in has won the EFF Award 2025 for Defending Digital Freedoms!
  The recognition celebrates SFLC.in’s advocacy for online civil liberties, privacy, and open access to knowledge.

Upcoming Events

• FOSS Meetup Kolkata — 8 November 2025
• FOSS Meetup Lucknow — 15 November 2025
• FOSS Meetup Chennai — 15 November 2025
• FOSS Meetup Coimbatore — 29 October 2025

To view more past and upcoming events, visit the FOSS Events Timeline.
Our community thrives on respect, inclusivity, and collaboration — the Code of Conduct is here to guide us.

From the Community Corner

Projects

• Open Printer: An open hardware printer you can actually understand, repair, and upgrade.
• Open Sustainable Technology: A directory of open-source projects tackling climate change, energy, and biodiversity.
• BeagleBoard.org: Supports building electronics with open hardware and Linux.
• Refine: A React framework for internal tools, dashboards, and B2B apps.
• TripleA: A turn-based strategy and board game engine like Axis & Allies or Risk.

News and more

• Linux Foundation announces intent to launch the React Foundation
• Open Source Blueprints for Civilization – Open Source Ecology
• Arattai vs WhatsApp: The answer to Western Big Tech is not Indian Big Tech
• A frugal DIY air quality monitor
• The second tranche and anniversary reflection – FLOSS.fund
• The Untold Story of Log4j and Log4Shell
• Marimo is joining CoreWeave
• The Open Internet is Dead. What Comes Next? – TechPolicy Press
• Living in a Ghost World: The Data Workers Who Make the Internet Possible – BehanBox
• The Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab – Data & Society
• The State of Independent Technology Research 2025: Power in Numbers

Grants & Opportunities

• floss.fund: Supporting critical, impactful, and valuable FLOSS projects globally.
• FOSS United Grants

We hope you found this month's updates insightful and exciting. Your active participation and feedback are what make our community thrive.
If you have any questions, or suggestions, or need further information, feel free to reach out to us at foundation@fossunited.org

We invite you to join our Telegram group. It's a fantastic way to stay connected with the FOSS United community and be the first to know about our latest initiatives.

Thank you for being an integral part of our journey. Let's keep fostering innovation and collaboration in the FOSS world.

“May the FOSS be with you.”