Lok Sabha Question No. 1805 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Cost and Oversight of Zoho-Based Email Migration
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Abhishek Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1805

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 10.12.2025

## COST AND OVERSIGHT OF ZOHO-BASED EMAIL MIGRATION

## 1805.  SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Central Government employees whose official email accounts have been migrated to Zoho's platform as on 30 September 2025, Ministry -wise;
- (b) the total expenditure incurred on the migration process including software licences, infrastructure and training and the annual recurring cost since Financial Year 2023 -24; and
- (c) whether Service Level Agreements (SLAs) exist to ensure data availability, security audit rights and rollback options and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (c) :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.

To ensure this, the government through NIC has selected a Master System Integrator (MSI) -M/s Zoho as a robust cloud-based email solution capable of supporting all Government users.

The model ensures professional upgrades, seamless migration of existing accounts, and integration of modern office productivity tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software.

The contract includes provisions ensuring Government ownership of all data and IP generated during the engagement, along with guaranteed continuity and rollback options, where required.

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 service provider is required to comply with rigorous control standards and certifications, including ISO 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, and ISO 27018.

Key technical security requirements include:

- Implementation  of  Multi-Factor  Authentication  (MFA)  for  user  identities  across  all  protocols (Web, IMAP, SMTP, POP, and Calendar)
- Application of Geo-fencing and IP-based restrictions, and
- Use of industry standards and policies to combat email spoofing

The service is designed for high reliability, mandating a service availability uptime of at least 99.9% on a 24x7x365 basis.

The solution includes varied subscription plans (Standard, Business, Enterprise) along with integrated features like calendar management, task scheduling, and secure file sharing.

To ensure business continuity, the service provider is required to maintain Disaster Recovery sites in different seismic zones at least 500 kilometres apart, with strict Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) to minimize data loss during contingencies.

The number of accounts migrated to Zoho platform is around 12.68 Lakhs which includes 7.45 Lakhs Central Government Employees.

******