IIT Alumni Council to eliminate Chinese systems, softwares

A day after the Indian government banned 59 mobile applications of Chinese origin, one of the largest global alumni bodies of the Indian Institutes of Technology

A day after the Indian government banned 59 mobile applications of Chinese origin, one of the largest global alumni bodies of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has announced the elimination of Chinese systems and software in all its initiatives.

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IIT Alumni Council said that it was working with various technical institutes of excellence and research institutions to develop indigenous and cost-effective solutions to replace Chinese systems and software. IIT Alumni Council comprises alumni, students and faculty across all the 23 IITs and partnering technical institutes.

“In support of the Indian government’s ban on Chinese apps, IIT Alumni Council is announcing an immediate ban on Chinese systems and software for all its initiatives including MegaLab. We are also sure that we shall not only achieve the goal of self-sufficiency for all our initiatives but would also export our software and testing systems to other parts of the world,” said Ravi Sharma, president and chief volunteer, IIT Alumni Council. MegaLab is the latest initiative of the council, which involves building a lab in Mumbai that will have the capacity to conduct 10 million tests for Covid-19 a month.

However, Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of IIT-Bombay (IIT-B), clarified IIT-B is not officially associated with the council. “We are not aware of any of their activities or decisions. Hence we cannot comment on their decision,” he said.