The Linux Foundation (LF) is the world's leading home for open source projects. As a nonprofit, it provides neutral ground where competing companies collaborate on shared technological challenges across cloud, networking, blockchain, and AI.
LF launched Linux Foundation India to bridge Indian innovation with global collaboration. The initiative focuses on critical infrastructure including finance, telecom, blockchain, security, AI, cloud, and Edge/IoT technologies for India-specific solutions.
We spoke with Arpit Joshipura, Head of LF India, to understand how the organization is driving this transformation and what the future holds for open source innovation in India.
How is Linux Foundation India contributing to India's digital transformation?
Arpit: India’s e-governance has integrated policies that clearly spell out the use of open source in Digital Public Infrastructure.
The Linux Foundation launched LF India to enable local innovation and global collaboration in critical infrastructure and areas of technology, including but not limited to finance, telecom, blockchain, security, AI, cloud, Edge/IOT, and many more.
Our local presence allows developers to collaborate and work on India-specific projects and use cases, speeding up innovation.
What projects or initiatives by the Linux Foundation in India have made a direct impact on non-technical communities?
Arpit: LF Decentralized Trust technologies in solutions such as Digi Yatra and the e-rupee directly benefit non-technical communities.
How does India compare with the US, Europe, and other Asian countries in terms of open source contribution?
Arpit:India’s the second largest pool of open source developers globally. The US leads open source innovation, but India has seen the fastest growth in 2025 of any country globally.
What are the Linux Foundation’s future plans for India in the next few years?
Arpit: We are really excited about the support and feedback we have received from the Indian ecosystem. We now have 11 subfoundations supporting India’s mission on innovation leadership. We expect more technologies and subfoundations to expand in India over the next few years.
Furthermore, we are also increasing the size and frequency of open source events, from large ones like KubeCon and Open Source Summits to local and regional meetups.
At LF, we see more open source projects being initiated and contributed in India, such as the CREDEBL project at LF Decentralized Trust and the recent contribution of the Decentralized Directory (DeDi) from the Finternet.
What steps are the Linux Foundation taking to grow open source communities in smaller cities of India?
Arpit: Open Source Projects are accessible irrespective of the location or size of the city. All it takes is a skilled and motivated software developer passionate enough to contribute to this ecosystem.
There is an entire set of Training and e-Learning courses available in LF for no cost to start. All collaborative tools are available online.
Can we expect Linus Torvalds to visit India or participate in an Open Source Summit here anytime soon?
Arpit: Our next chapter of Open Source Summit India is in Mumbai during the week of June 15th, 2026, and we will make a request for Linus to come.
Are Indian startups actively contributing to open source, or are they mostly consumers of open technologies?
Arpit: We are seeing startups utilizing the power of open source. There is still training needed for moving from a consumer to a contributor and eventually a leader. However, the employees of global enterprises with major R&D sites in India are already contributing.
How is the Linux Foundation engaging with Indian policymakers, educators, and businesses to promote open source?
Arpit: Our sub-foundations (e.g., LF Networking, LF Decentralized Trust, LFAgg, etc.) are working with multiple government agencies, universities, and enterprises to understand and guide open source solutions required within India. Examples include the IOS-MCN project and India e-rupee,etc.
What is the most memorable or fun moment you have had while working with the open source community?
Arpit:The best part of the open source community is the global nature of collaboration while fostering local innovation. Country and geopolitical boundaries are not present in the community, as similar challenges and problems need to be addressed everywhere.
Having spoken across all our major events in North America, Europe, China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, and more, the best feedback I get is: “Thank you for giving us a headstart; we have the same challenges in our domains, so this will speed up innovation.”
How would you explain the role of the Linux Foundation to someone with no technical background in India?
Arpit:The Linux Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps people and companies all over the world build, maintain, and improve open source software technology.
Open source projects at the LF support the technology behind almost everything you touch daily: smartphones, cars, banking systems, streaming services, even hospitals.
Without it, modern digital life would be fragmented, slower, and far more expensive because companies would each have to reinvent the same tools instead of sharing them.
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