Micro-granting in India – BoF at IndiaFOSS/2026

I have proposed BoF (Birds of Feather) session and discussion at IndiaFOSS/2026. The proposal is yet to be approved as of today. I am logging the same content here for readers of my blog post and also for record keeping. I will update in both places if there are any changes. Background I am Thejesh GN. In 2018, I started a yearly micro-grant of ₹1,00,000 in memory of my mother, called the Nagarathna Memorial Grant (NMG). The idea was to support meaningful work with no strings attached. The reason for the grant can be anything that matters to the applicant and the people around them. While I personally prefer Free and Open Source Software, Creative Commons, and public-interest work, that is not a requirement. Over the years, the size of the grant has grown from ₹1 lakh to several lakhs, thanks to friends and supporters joining in. In 2026, the grant reached its largest size yet ₹5.6 lakhs with many people contributing and supporting the process.The idea is also not to grow beyond ₹10…