New Delhi: Microsoft-owned code repository platform GitHub on Tuesday said it will offer its GitHub sponsor service to developers in India. Starting today, Indian developers on GitHub can sign up for sponsors to receive financial support for their independent developer projects.
The company said that Indian developers will no longer be put on a waiting list to sign up sponsors. GitHub sponsors Explore Platform provides a browser view for all projects on the platform, using which interested parties can discover new developer projects that best suit their needs.
GitHub allows individuals and organizations to sponsor developer projects by individual developers, as well as by organizations. The company states in its detailed developer fact sheet that no platform fee is levied on sponsorships made from individual or personal accounts, while developers are charged a 10% fee for organization sponsorships.
For which users are eligible to receive sponsorships, GitHub says, “Anyone who contributes to an open source project and lives in a supported area is eligible to become a sponsored developer. Contributions include bug reports, issue triage, code Includes, but is not limited to, documentation, leadership, business development, project management, mentorship and design.”
Hence, any eligible Indian developer on the platform can now set up a sponsored profile, add their bank account details, and get financial support for their work from users across the globe.
During the announcement, GitHub said that Indian developers make up the second largest demographic on its platform, with over 8 million developers from the region. In the past year, Indian developers have contributed over 200 million to over 10 million projects across the world. As of November 2021, GitHub had 73 million developers on the platform, which is expected to grow to over 100 million over the next three years.
In terms of getting a global audience to publish their work, GitHub makes it a premier platform for developers across the globe. SlashData’s Developer Nation report for Q3 2021 states that as of September last year, there were a total of 26.8 million active developers worldwide.
JavaScript remained the most popular programming language by a wide margin, while robotics, computer vision and Web 3 development remained some of the most active interest areas for developers.