Lok Sabha Confirms Migration Of 1.26 Million Official Email Accounts To Zoho

The Indian government has completed the shift of nearly 12.68 lakh official email accounts across various ministries and departments to a cloud-based platform provided by Zoho, according to details shared in Parliament.

Scope of the Email Migration

In a written response to Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada revealed the scale of the transition.

"The number of accounts migrated to Zoho platform is around 12.68 Lakhs which includes 7.45 Lakhs Central Government Employees," Prasada stated on December 10.

The migration covers a significant portion of the government's communication needs, with the accounts drawn from multiple central ministries and departments.

Officials noted that this move aligns with efforts to modernise digital tools for public servants. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) handled the process, maintaining its role as the primary provider of email services for government entities.

The transition gained public attention when Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in October that he had updated his official email to the Zoho system. In a social media update, Shah shared his new address and encouraged others to note it for correspondence.

Selection Process and Strategic Goals

The decision to partner with Zoho stemmed from a 2023 tender issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to replace the existing NIC email system with a more secure cloud option. Zoho emerged as the winner and was appointed as the Master System Integrator (MSI).

Explaining the rationale, Prasada said, "The Government recognises the critical importance of having a robust, sovereign and secure official email system for its Ministries and Departments. Accordingly, the Government mandates that only email services provided by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) shall be used for official communication."

The new setup not only handles emails but also incorporates productivity features. As per the response, the platform offers "integration of modern office productivity tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software."

Emphasis on Reliability and Business Continuity

The agreement with Zoho includes strict performance standards, "The service is designed for high reliability, mandating a service availability uptime of at least 99.9% on a 24x7x365 basis," according to the minister's reply.

For handling emergencies, the provider maintains separate disaster recovery sites. These facilities are required to be "in different seismic zones at least 500 kilometres apart, with strict Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)." Such measures ensure minimal disruption and quick restoration of services during any unforeseen events.

Data Security and Ownership Safeguards

The contract stipulates encryption protocols. "The security architecture of the e-mail platform has been defined rigorously to protect critical government data. The solution mandates that all email data be encrypted both at rest and in transit, with specific requirements for end-to-end encryption using RSA 256 and TLS 1.3 standards," the response detailed.

Prasada emphasised that "The contract with the MSI ensures that the ownership of all data and Intellectual Property (IP) generated during the engagement remains with the Government, along with guaranteed continuity and rollback options where required."

Despite the detailed overview, Prasada did not disclose financial aspects, such as the total migration costs, including licenses, infrastructure, and training, or ongoing annual expenses since the 2023-24 fiscal year. These specifics were part of Banerjee's query but went unaddressed in the reply.

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