Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic research, this paper will explore the quid pro quo nature of the relationships between philanthropy, technology companies, and development in India.

Paper long abstract:

Based on ethnographic research with the free and open source software (FOSS) community in India, this paper explores the connections between philanthropy, technology companies, and development in India. Despite fiscal and technical advantages of FOSS, the Indian government must balance its desire for technological autonomy with the need for jobs from multinational corporations such as Microsoft via outsourcing and development aid from NGOs such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Several recent studies on how IT billionaires funnel their fortunes through philanthropic organisations demonstrate that these acts of charity are carried out in opaque institutions which are not accountable to governments and that the creation of these foundations also provides a means through which wealth can be 'washed clean' and remain untaxed. FOSS provides a useful lens through which to view how the philanthropic goals of tech billionaires to impact the development. Although it is not possible to verify the extent to which aid from the BMGF is given or received as a form of quid pro quo for purchases of Microsoft products used in government departments, my interlocutors often discussed these relationships as fact. If a corporation can define how governments operate through threats of withdrawing as an employer as well as through hegemonic definitions of what software is and then the philanthropic organisations affiliated with the corporation can come in and offer needed gifts in the form of 'free' software donations to local NGOs or direct aid, what can a sovereign government do?