Use Indian work apps: Education ministry to offices
The Zoho Office Suite is a cloud-based productivity platform by Chennai-based private firm Zoho Corporation
Union education ministry’s higher education department on Friday directed all officials to adopt the Zoho Office Suite for official work, a ‘bold’ move aimed at ‘strengthening digital sovereignty under the Swadeshi movement towards Atmanirbhar Bharat’, according to an official document.
In an office memorandum, Nishant Upadhyaya, under secretary of higher education said that the directive aligns with the government’s vision of transforming the country from a service economy into a product nation and building a self-reliant ecosystem in technology, hardware, and software. Officials are now required to use Zoho tools — already integrated with the NIC mail system — for creating, editing, and sharing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, he said.
The Zoho Office Suite is a cloud-based productivity platform by Chennai-based private firm Zoho Corporation, offering tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
“By embracing Zoho’s indigenous office productivity tools, we take a bold step in the Swadeshi movement, empowering India to lead with homegrown innovation, strengthen digital sovereignty, and secure our data for a self-reliant future,” the memorandum noted.
The memo also outlined compliance instructions: officials can access Zoho tools via their National Informatics Centre (NIC) mail accounts, familiarize themselves with the suite’s features, and make full use of its collaborative functions.
The development comes two years after HT in September 2023 first reported that the Union government selected Chennai-based Zoho to manage email services and other internet-based office products. Notably, this is the first instance of a private contractor being entrusted with government digital services.
