'I Have Switched to Zoho': Home Minister Amit Shah Shares His New Email Amid India's Push for Swadeshi Apps

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Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has switched to the India-made Zoho Mail app for official email communication. Zoho, a Chennai-based alternative to global email providers, offers a suite of apps for office solutions and communication.Taking to X, formally Twitter, Amit Shah said, "Hello everyone, I have switched to Zoho Mail. Kindly note the change in my email address. My new email address is [e-mail]. For future correspondence via mail, kindly use this address. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter."

Prior to Amit Shah, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had shifted to Zoho apps for his official work. The move comes in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to move towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat and a self-reliant India, aiming to reduce dependence on foreign-based services.

India Pushes For Zoho Office Suite For Official Work

Earlier, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has directed its officials to use Zoho Office Suite for official work in a push towards self-reliance and reducing dependency on foreign software, according to officials."By embracing Zoho's indigenous office tools, we empower India to lead with homegrown innovation, strengthen digital sovereignty, and secure our data for a self-reliant future," the ministry said in a circular titled 'Strengthening digital sovereignty under Swadeshi movement'.

Zoho Office Suite, developed by Sridhar Vembu-led Zoho Corporation, offers a comprehensive platform for documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more.Key tools include Zoho Writer for documents, Zoho Sheet for spreadsheets, and Zoho Show for presentations, all stored securely on Zoho WorkDrive.

"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," the ministry said.With inputs from PTI