Union MoS Jitin Prasada on Wednesday informed the parliament that the Central government has migrated around 16.68 lakh official email accounts of Ministries and Departments to a cloud-based platform managed by Zoho Corporation, with total expenditure reaching Rs 180.10 crore.

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Cost and Rationale Behind the Migration

Responding to queries raised by TMC MPs Rachna Banerjee, Deepak Dev Adhikari and Mala Roy, Prasada said in a written reply, "The payments are linked to the actual number of email accounts migrated. The pricing ranges between Rs 170 and Rs 300 per account per month, depending on mailbox size between 30 GB and 100 GB."

Prasada further explained the rationale behind the move, stating, "The government recognises the critical importance of having a robust, sovereign and secure official email system for Ministries and Departments."

Selection Process and Modernisation Efforts

The minister clarified that the selection of Zoho as a Master System Integrator (MSI) was conducted through a transparent and competitive bidding process on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM-CPPP). The process included a Proof of Concept (PoC) evaluation with shortlisted bidders and designated government users. He emphasised that the government continues to mandate the use of email services provided by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for official communication, while the upgraded cloud-based solution is being implemented to modernise legacy infrastructure and enhance scalability, collaboration, and security.

Data Control and Adherence to 'Make in India'

Addressing concerns over data control, Prasada stated, "Ownership and control of all government data remain with the Government of India. The project also adheres to "Make in India" principles, ensuring sovereign and secure communication systems for official use."

Digital Communication for Governance

The Government said that it recognises electronic mail as an important mode of official communication for governance, inter-ministerial coordination and citizen-centric service delivery.

Earlier in February, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu had highlighted India's focus on cost-effective and resource-efficient digital innovations, including smaller AI models tailored to domestic needs. (ANI)