The Indian government has successfully migrated approximately 12.68 lakh (1.26 million) official email accounts across various ministries and departments to a Zoho-based platform, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This move is part of a broader initiative to enhance email security and promote the use of indigenous technology in government operations.

Of the migrated accounts, 7.45 lakh belong to Central government employees, according to MeitY. While this is a significant number, it represents only a fraction of the total central government workforce, which currently stands at 50.14 lakh employees, as per a Lok Sabha reply by Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, on December 8.

The migration process has been conducted through the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which continues to serve as the mandated provider of official email services for government ministries and departments. Zoho was selected as the Master System Integrator to implement a secure, cloud-based email solution for government users. The contract follows a tender floated by MeitY in 2023 to transition government email accounts from NIC’s existing system to a modern, secure platform. Zoho won the contract, positioning itself as a key technology partner for the central government’s digital operations.

In his written response to Parliament, MoS MeitY Jitin Prasada highlighted that the government retains ownership of all data and intellectual property generated on the Zoho platform. The contract also includes provisions for continuity and rollback in case of system issues or required reversions, ensuring that operational control remains fully with the government.

The ministry did not, however, disclose details about the total cost of migration, including expenditure on software licenses, infrastructure, and training, nor the annual recurring expenses since the 2023–24 financial year.

Zoho’s email system includes multiple security features, including data encryption in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication, geo-fencing, IP-based access restrictions, and protections against email spoofing. The service is designed for 24/7 operation with a minimum uptime of 99.9%, meeting the government’s high standards for reliability and security.

To maintain business continuity, Zoho is required to operate disaster recovery sites in different seismic zones, located at least 500 kilometres apart, with clearly defined recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO). This ensures uninterrupted access to government email services even in the event of natural disasters or infrastructure failures.

The platform offers a range of subscription plans—Standard, Business, and Enterprise—alongside integrated tools such as calendar management, task scheduling, and secure file sharing. This integration is aimed at providing a comprehensive productivity environment for government employees while minimizing dependency on foreign service providers.

The migration aligns with the government’s push for swadeshi (indigenous) technology, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign platforms like Google and Microsoft. In recent months, several senior leaders—including Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, and Dharmendra Pradhan—have encouraged government officials and citizens to adopt Zoho’s services, including Arattai, email, word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools.

Even in official communications, the government has highlighted the adoption of Zoho services. During multiple cabinet briefings, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that presentation materials for the briefings were prepared using Zoho spreadsheets, underscoring the platform’s integration into daily government operations.

Zoho has not yet responded to requests for comment from Hindustan Times.

This migration marks a significant step toward digital self-reliance, providing secure, locally developed technology to central government employees and reinforcing India’s broader strategy to strengthen cybersecurity and data sovereigntyin public sector IT systems.