Bharat Operating System Solutions

{{Infobox OS

| name = BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions)

| logo = File:Bharat Operating System Solutions logo, Sept 2015.png

| logo_alt = Logo displaying BOSS prominently with two shades of blue and an outline of a left-facing face within the O supplemented with a full spelling of the name underneath.

| screenshot =

| screenshot_alt = A basic desktop environment of BOSS Linux 7.0 on a personal computer with menus above and a taskbar below.

| caption = BOSS GNU/Linux Version 9.0 "urja"

| developer = C-DAC/NRCFOSS

| family = Linux (Unix-like)

| released = {{Start date and age|2007|01|10|df=yes|paren=yes}}

| marketing_target = Desktop computer, Laptop, Education, and Server

| language count = 19

| language = Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Bodo, Urdu, Kashmiri, Maithili, Konkani and Manipuri

| userland = GNU

| ui = Cinnamon

| license = Derived from GNU software but does not accept changes.

| website = {{URL|https://bosslinux.in/}}

| working_state = Current

| source_model = [Open-source[The source is never made freely available to public]]

| latest_release_date = {{Start date and age|2024|03|15|df=yes|paren=yes}}

| latest_release_version = 10.0 ("Pragya")

| updatemodel = APT (several front-ends available)

| package_manager = dpkg

| supported_platforms = x86-64

| kernel_type = Monolithic (Linux)

}}

Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS GNU/Linux) is an Indian Linux distribution based on Debian. The latest stable release is 10.0 (Pragya), which was released in March 2024.

Editions

BOSS Linux was released in various editions for different purposes:{{citation-needed|date=July 2023}}

BOSS Desktop: Designed for personal, home, and office use.
EduBOSS: Designed for schools and educational institutions.
BOSS Advanced Server: The server-oriented edition.
BOSS MOOL: A special edition for maintainability by changing how kernel drivers are loaded as modules.

History

BOSS Linux was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing with the aim of promoting the adoption of free and open-source software throughout India. As a deliverable software of the National Resource Centre for Free and Open Source Software, it has a desktop environment that includes support for various Indian language and instructional software.

The software was endorsed by the Government of India for adoption and implementation in India. BOSS Linux has been certified by the Linux Foundation for compliance with the Linux Standard Base.[https://www.linuxfoundation.org/lsb-cert/productdir.php?by_prod The Product Directory of The Linux Foundation, LSB Certification Management System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126021432/http://www.linuxfoundation.org/lsb-cert/productdir.php?by_prod |date=26 November 2009 }}. Retrieved on 31 October 2008 BOSS Linux supported Intel and AMD IA-32/x86-64 architecture until version 6 ("Anoop"). Version 7 ("Drishti") onward only supports the x86-64 architecture.

Versions

BOSS Linux has nine major releases:{{cite web | url=https://bosslinux.in/bosssecurity | title=BOSS Security | BOSS Linux }}

class="wikitable"
Version ! Code name ! Kernel version ! Desktop ! Date of release
{{Version\|o\|Evaluation}} \| Sethu \| 2.6.14-2-smp \| GNOME 2.8 \|
{{Version\|o\|1.0}} \| Tarag \| 2.6.17-1-i386 \| GNOME 2.14 \|January 2006
{{Version\|o\|2.0}} \| Anant \| 2.6.21-1-486 \| GNOME 2.18 \|September 2007
{{Version\|o\|3.0}} \| Tejas \| 2.6.22-3-486 \| GNOME 2.20 \|September 2008
{{Version\|o\|4.0}} \| Savir \| 2.6.32-5-686 \| GNOME 2.30.2 \|April 2011
{{Version\|o\|5.0}} \| Anokha \| 3.10 \| GNOME 3.4.2 \|September 2013
{{Version\|o\|6.0}} \| Anoop \| 3.16.0-4-686 \| GNOME 3.14.4 \| August 2015
{{Version\|o\|7.0}} \| Drishti \| 4.9.0-8-amd64 \| GNOME 3.22 \| August 2018
{{Version\|o\|8.0}} \|Unnati \| 5.2 \|Cinnamon \| 11 July 2019
{{Version\|c\|9.0}} \|Urja \| 5.10 \|Cinnamon \| 19 February 2021
{{Version\|c\|10.0}} \|Pragya \| # \|Cinnamon \| 15 March 2024

class="wikitable"

Version

! Code name

! Kernel version

! Desktop

! Date of release

| Sethu

| 2.6.14-2-smp

| GNOME 2.8

| Tarag

| 2.6.17-1-i386

| GNOME 2.14

|January 2006

| Anant

| 2.6.21-1-486

| GNOME 2.18

|September 2007

| Tejas

| 2.6.22-3-486

| GNOME 2.20

|September 2008

| Savir

| 2.6.32-5-686

| GNOME 2.30.2

|April 2011

| Anokha

| 3.10

| GNOME 3.4.2

|September 2013

| Anoop

| 3.16.0-4-686

| GNOME 3.14.4

| August 2015

| Drishti

| 4.9.0-8-amd64

| GNOME 3.22

| August 2018

|Unnati

| 5.2

|Cinnamon

| 11 July 2019

|Urja

| 5.10

|Cinnamon

| 19 February 2021

|Pragya

| #

|Cinnamon

| 15 March 2024

= BOSS 5.0 (Anokha) =

This release came with many new applications focused mainly on enhanced security and user-friendliness.{{Vague|reason=What specifically changed that made this release more user friendly?|date=March 2025}} The distribution included over 12,800 new packages, for a total of over {{formatnum:37493}}. Most of the software in the distribution had been updated as well: over {{formatnum:20160}} software packages (70% of all packages in Savir). BOSS 5.0 supported Linux Standard Base (LSB) version 4.1. It also featured XBMC to allow users to easily browse and view videos, photos, podcasts, and music from a hard drive, optical disc, local network, and the Internet.

=BOSS 6.0 (Anoop)=

Notable changes in this release include a kernel update from 3.10 to 3.16, a shift for system boot from init to systemd, the full support of GNOME Shell as part of GNOME 3.14, an updated version of GRUB, the Iceweasel browser being replaced by Firefox and the Pidgin messaging client replacing Empathy, as well as several repository versions of available programs being updated as part of the release.

BOSS Linux 6.0 also shipped various application and program updates, such as LibreOffice, X.Org, Evolution, GIMP, VLC media player, GTK+, GCC, GNOME Keyring, and Python.

Related specifically to localization support, language support improved with the replacement of SCIM with IBus with the Integrated System Settings. Indic languages enabled with "Region and Languages" are now directly mapped to the IBus, and the OnScreenKeyboard layout is provided for all layouts.

This release is fully compatible with LSB 4.1.

= BOSS 7.0 (Drishti) =

The most significant change over previous releases is that this release does not support x86 and BOSS is now only available for the x86-64 architecture. Other notable changes include a kernel update to 4.9.0, a GNOME update from 3.14 to 3.22, and software updates to various applications and programs with wide Indian language support & packages. This release aims to enhance the user interface with more glossy themes and is coupled with the latest applications from the community.

= BOSS 8.0 (Unnati) =

The desktop environment is changed from GNOME to Cinnamon.

= BOSS 9.0 (Urja) =

The Linux kernel was updated from 5.2 to 5.10.

= BOSS 10.0 (Pragya) =

BOSS GNU/Linux version 10 features the Cinnamon Desktop Environment and aims to provide a complete e-Governance stack based on free and open source software.{{Efn|Despite the name, the source code of BOSS GNU/Linux is not publicy available.}} The recommended system requirements include 2 GB of RAM, 15 GB of hard drive space, and a minimum 1GHz Pentium processor.{{cite web |title=Downloads – BOSS GNU/Linux |url=https://bosslinux.in/downloads |website=BOSS GNU/Linux |access-date=26 September 2024}}