Swecha

Swecha is a non-profit organization formerly called as Free Software Foundation Andhra Pradesh (or FSF-AP in short) later changed name to Swecha which is also the first Telugu Operating System released in year 2005, Swecha is a part of Free Software Movement of India (FSMI). This organization is a social movement that works towards enlightening the masses with the essence of Free Software and to liberate knowledge to the commoners. Swecha organizes different workshops and seminars in the Indian state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh among the youth to spread the idea of knowledge liberation. The swecha has a sizable number of followers in states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and a vibrant community of software users, students, academicians and software professionals/developers determined to provide quality software built on the guidelines of free software development model.
Presently Swecha is active GLUG (GNU/Linux User Group) in many engineering colleges like International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad , Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad , Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, St. Martin's Engineering College, Sridevi Women's Engineering College, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, SCIENT Institute of Technology, CMR Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Jyothishmathi College of Engineering and Technology, MVGR College of Engineering, K L University, Ace Engineering College, and others in and around Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Name.
Swecha is the body working as a part of Free Software Movement of India.
Objectives.
The main objectives of the organization are as follows:
Projects.
Swecha is a free software project aimed at coming out with a localised version of Linux Operating System in Telugu and providing global software solutions to the local people with the Free Software development model by working together with the community of developers and users all over. The prime objective of Swecha OS is to provide a complete computing solution to a population that speaks and understands only Telugu. The target users of the Distro being the entire community that is a prey of the digital divide. This project helps in coming out with a solution for the digital divide and allows the possibility of digital unite becoming a reality. The project aims at bridging the gap between the computer technology that exists predominantly in English and the Telugu-speaking community of India. The project also aims at providing a framework for development and maintenance of Free Software projects taken up by the community.
Bala Swecha is a free software project initiated by the Swecha for tiny tots, It is a school distro with many of the useful interactive applications for the school goers. Its stack is filled with educational suites for all the standards right from elementary to 10th standards. They cover a wide range of applications which make the student learn Maths, Physics, Geography, Chemistry etc., very easily. Swecha has taken up many activities in training the school teachers, computer instructors of several government schools. The aim of the Distro is to deliver a Free Software-based operating system for the project of "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan" initiated by the government. There isn't such operating system till now which gives full freedom with an educational stack. Swecha has the plans of localizing BalaSwecha for the benefit of Telugu medium students.
E-Swecha is a free software project initiated by the Swecha and is aimed at developing a free Operating System, which is not built by a software firm.. neither is it built by a few programmers.. it is a collaborative work of hundreds of Swecha Volunteers/engineering students in and around Hyderabad to, for and by the engineering students.