Zoho: 1.2 million government employees' emails shifted to Zoho, focusing on security and data privacy..

Zoho is rapidly gaining popularity. In response, a major change has been made to the email system for central government employees in India. The email accounts of approximately 1.2 million central government employees, including those in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), have now been transitioned to a platform developed by Zoho Corporation. This move is a significant initiative towards replacing the long-standing National Informatics Center (NIC) email service.

This change is part of a broader campaign to strengthen India's digital self-reliance. The Ministry of Education issued an order on October 3, directing officials to adopt Zoho Suite.

Focus on Indigenous Things
The government aims to promote indigenous technology and create a secure, domestic digital ecosystem. Zoho Suite is replacing open-source tools that were considered less secure for official use.

Steps have also been taken regarding security and data protection. Officials stated that data privacy and cybersecurity issues were reviewed with NIC and CERT-In. Regular audits will be conducted by Software Quality Systems (SQS) to ensure data security. A senior official stated that “all necessary measures have been taken to protect sensitive government data.”

Former IAS officer K.B.S. Sidhu welcomed the move but cautioned that data security protocols must be “watertight.” He emphasized the importance of end-to-end encryption and independent audits of data centers located in India to protect against potential cyber threats.

The National Informatics Institute (NIC), established in 1976 under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, operated the government email infrastructure for decades. Zoho is now assuming responsibility under a seven-year contract awarded through 2023, although the official email domains will remain nic.in and gov.in.

On October 10, Zoho founder Shridhar Vembu addressed privacy concerns surrounding his messaging app, Arattai, stating that the company’s business model is “based on trust” and that user data is not misused for marketing. He also stated that end-to-end encryption is being implemented in the services.

It's worth noting that some Union ministers recently announced the shift of their personal email accounts to Zoho, but officials clarified that government communications will still be under the NIC domain.

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