Zoho Has Secured Approval To Power National Informatics Centre’s Email System After Extensive Audits: Sridhar Vembu

Zoho Corporation has formally received approval to power the National Informatics Centre’s (NIC) email system after an extensive evaluation process involving multiple audits of its code, data centres, and security infrastructure, co-founder Sridhar Vembu confirmed this to Moneycontrol.

The development follows recent discussions surrounding the government’s adoption of Zoho Mail for official communication.

Vembu clarified that the selection came through a competitive tender process floated in 2023 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for migrating NIC’s existing email service, used by nearly 33 lakh government employees to a secure cloud-based platform.

“About more than 1.5 million users are on board now. And we went through at least about 15, maybe 20 audits covering all of the areas of our code, our data center, our security practices, all of it. Extensive number of audits we have gone through. And only after that, the NIC team selected Zoho,” Vembu was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

He emphasised that the selection followed “stiff competition” and a “competitive make-off,” rejecting suggestions that Zoho’s adoption was politically influenced. “This is not some new thing suddenly that was sprung, as some people are imagining,” he said.

Highlighting the government’s wider vision for indigenous innovation, Vembu said the growing preference for Zoho aligns with the “Swadeshi movement” aimed at promoting home-grown technology champions. “We must back this. We must promote this. We need these national champions,” he added.

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan reiterated that while Zoho powers NIC’s email services, the government’s broader focus remains on supporting multiple Indian tech firms, not any single company.

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