Software:Bharat Operating System Solutions

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BOSS Linux
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.
DeveloperC-DAC/NRCFOSS
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen-source
(The source was never made freely available to the public)
Initial release10-January-2007 (19 years ago) (10-January-2007)
|Final release|Latest release}}10.0 ("Pragya") / 15-March-2024 (2 years ago) (15-March-2024)
Marketing targetDesktop computer, Laptop, Education, and Server
Available in19 languages
List of languages
Assamese, Bengali, English (India), Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Bodo, Urdu, Kashmiri, Maithili, Konkani and Manipuri
Update methodAPT (several front-ends available)
Package managerdpkg
Platformsx86-64
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
UserlandGNU
Default user interfaceCinnamon
LicenseDerived from GNU software but does not accept changes.
Official websitebosslinux.in

Bharat Operating System Solutions GNU/Linux, also referred to as BOSS 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:[1]

  • BOSS Desktop: Designed for personal, home, and office use.
  • EduBOSS: Designed for schools and educational institutions.
  • BOSS Server: Server variant of BOSS GNU/Linux supports Intel and AMD architectures.
  • BOSS MOOL: A special edition for maintainability by changing how kernel drivers are loaded as modules.
  • Secure BOSS: A Secure Linux distribution with access control and security policies.
  • CDAC ERP: ERP is an application to automate the business processes.

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.[2] 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:[3] {{{2}}}

Version Code name Kernel version Desktop Date of Release End of Support Date
Evaluation Sethu 2.6.14-2-smp GNOME 2.8
1.0 Tarag 2.6.17-1-i386 GNOME 2.14 January-2006
2.0 Anant 2.6.21-1-486 GNOME 2.18 September-2007
3.0 Tejas 2.6.22-3-486 GNOME 2.20 September-2008
4.0 Savir 2.6.32-5-686 GNOME 2.30.2 April-2011
5.0 Anokha 3.10 GNOME 3.4.2 September-2013
6.0 Anoop 3.16.0-4-686 GNOME 3.14.4 August-2015
7.0 Drishti 4.9.0-8-amd64 GNOME 3.22 22-June-2017 21-June-2022
8.0 Unnati 5.2 Cinnamon 03-October-2019 03-October-2023
9.0 Urja 5.10 Cinnamon 02-April-2022 30-June-2026
10.0 Pragya # Cinnamon 18-March-2024 30-June-2028

BOSS 5.0 (Anokha)

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.[lower-alpha 1] The recommended system requirements include 2 GB of RAM, 15 GB of hard drive space, and a minimum 1GHz Pentium processor.[4]

Cyberattacks

In October 2025, the Pakistan-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) group APT36, also known as Transparent Tribe, had expanded its operations to target India’s Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS) Linux platform.[5][6][7] The vulnerability exploited in this campaign was later patched by security researcher Kiran Singh Rajpurohit.[8][6][9][10][11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Despite the name, the source code of BOSS GNU/Linux is not publicly available.

See also

Note: This topic belongs to "Linux " portal

References

  1. ↑ "iOSS Linux". https://bosslinux.in/. 
  2. ↑ The Product Directory of The Linux Foundation, LSB Certification Management System . Retrieved on 31 October 2008
  3. ↑ "BOSS Security | BOSS Linux". https://bosslinux.in/bosssecurity. 
  4. ↑ "Downloads – BOSS GNU/Linux". https://bosslinux.in/downloads. 
  5. ↑ Panwar, Ayush. "Investigation Report: APT36 Malware Campaign Using Desktop Entry Files and Google Drive Payload Delivery | CloudSEK" (in en). https://cloudsek.com/blog/investigation-report-apt36-malware-campaign-using-desktop-entry-files-and-google-drive-payload-delivery. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 FOUNDATION, OBSERVER RESEARCH. "APT36’s Linux Campaign Marks New Phase in India-Pakistan Cyber War" (in en). https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/apt36-s-linux-campaign-marks-new-phase-in-india-pakistan-cyber-war. 
  7. ↑ "Indian Governmental Organizations Targeted by APT-36" (in en). https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/apt-36-uses-new-ttps-and-new-tools-target-indian-governmental-organizations. 
  8. ↑ "Kiran Singh Rajpurohit's Cybersecurity Research Spans BOSS Linux, Threat Intelligence and AI" (in en). https://sikkimexpress.com/news-details/kiran-singh-rajpurohits-cybersecurity-research-spans-boss-linux-threat-intelligence-and-ai. 
  9. ↑ "APT36: Targets Indian BOSS Linux Systems with Weaponized AutoStart Files" (in en-US). https://www.cyfirma.com/research/apt36-targets-indian-boss-linux-systems-with-weaponized-autostart-files/. 
  10. ↑ Mutha, Snehal (2026-05-30). "Report warns that cybercriminals are exploiting Cockroach Janta Party’s popularity to con GenZ" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/report-warns-that-cybercriminals-are-exploiting-cockroach-janta-partys-popularity-to-con-genz/article71036477.ece. 
  11. ↑ Mascellino, Alessandro (2025-10-23). "Pakistani-Linked Hacker Group Targets Indian Government" (in en-gb). https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/pakistani-hacker-group-targets/. 



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