Over 16.68 lakh official email accounts belonging to Central government employees have been moved to a cloud platform run by Zoho, with total spending on the project touching Rs 180.10 crore so far, as per reports from Financial Express.
This information was shared by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology with the Lok Sabha. The migration has been reportedly carried out by the National Informatics Centre, bringing in Zoho as the Master System Integrator for the project.
What aided the mega move?
The migration of email accounts is a part of the government’s broader effort to modernise its digital communication systems while ensuring data sovereignty.
Reports from Financial Express state that officials explained that the project aims to create a “robust, sovereign, and secure” email system for official use, with full ownership and control of data remaining with the government.
Why Zoho?
Zoho was reportedly chosen as the “Master System Integrator” through a competitive bidding process conducted on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
Reports also say that a proof-of-concept evaluation involving shortlisted vendors and government users was included in the selection process before final approval.
Total expenditure for the move
The total expenditure so far stands at approximately Rs 180.10 crore, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The pricing under the contract ranges between Rs 170 and Rs 300 per user per month, depending on storage capacity, which varies from 30 GB to 100 GB. Payments are reportedly linked to the number of accounts migrated, meaning costs may increase as more departments transition to the platform.
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The shift is aimed at replacing older email infrastructure and improving scalability, collaboration, and cybersecurity. The government has emphasised that official communication must continue through NIC-managed systems, even as the backend infrastructure is upgraded with cloud capabilities.
The large-scale migration highlights key factors like India’s growing focus on building indigenous digital infrastructure.
In adopting a domestic platform, the government is attempting to reduce reliance on foreign service providers while strengthening control over sensitive data.
