A two-line post on X by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw last month was enough to put Sridhar Vembu's Zoho back in the spotlight. Since then, several ministers have gone on to endorse the desi tech company and its software products, coming amid a 'swadeshi' push fuelled by rising US tariff tensions. However, fault-finding against Zoho has already begun as it tries to challenge entrenched giants like Microsoft, Meta and Google.It is here that the role of the government becomes crucial in strengthening its own desi tech force like China and the US have done. In the past, platforms like Bharti Airtel's Hike and Twitter clone Koo initially gained immense popularity in India before shutting shop.Has the government learnt its lessons from history? With Zoho, the government seems to have made the right moves initially. Sustaining it will be the key.I am moving to Zoho — our own Swadeshi platform for documents, spreadsheets & presentations.I urge all to join PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s call for Swadeshi by adopting indigenous products & services. pic.twitter.com/k3nu7bkB1S— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) September 22, 2025On September 22, Vaishnaw announced that he would switch to Zoho's platforms for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. He also recently held a Cabinet briefing using Zoho Show, an alternative to Microsoft Powerpoint."I am moving to Zoho… I urge all to join PM Narendra Modi's call for swadeshi by adopting indigenous products and services," the Union Minister tweeted.Over the past week, several ministers, including Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and personalities have endorsed Arattai, Zoho's WhatsApp rival. In limbo since its launch way back in 2021, Arattai (meaning casual talk in Tamil) now has suddenly gained momentum.The 'Made-in-India' messaging platform has registered 7.5 million overall downloads, climbed to the top of Apple's app store and is likely to break into the top 100 on Google Play. Vembu said Arattai has seen a 100x surge in sign-ups in just three days.Simultaneously, the Education Department has instructed its officials to use Zoho tools instead of Microsoft Office and Google Workspace for official work.The sudden government push to adopt Zoho and reduce dependence on foreign software has already given rise to scepticism and criticism on social media."How one specific minister can move his ecosystem to Zoho without the rest of the GoI moving? How does that integration happen? How are security concerns addressed? Or is his usage restricted to some end-user clients?" one user, Rishabh Mukherjee, tweeted.The Chennai-based firm was quick to clarify that Zoho won the bid in 2023 to handle email services and a host of other government digital services."The government is migrating their email system to Zoho Workplace after the rigorous technical evaluation and audits by CERT-in panelled agencies through an open tender floated by DIC (Digital India Corporation)," Zoho stated.Another X user, Navin Vyas, called the government's move "anti-competitive" for selecting and promoting one specific company."Isn't this anti-competitive? Selecting and promoting one specific company when there are several others with similar products made locally in India are available? Several high courts have struck down tenders that promoted specific brands and did not provide a level-playing field," he said.A software developer, Bharat Vijay, shared his recent experience with Zoho People, a cloud-based HR software solution, calling it an "over complicated mess"."Our organisation recently migrated from happierwork to Zoho people, and what an over complicated mess Zoho is. 6 modules and each has 7 different windows, everything is hidden deep inside same naming menus," he tweeted.An independent tech journalist commented, "No tender, no fair process of selection, and no consideration for open-source options… Crony capitalism swadeshi edition."However, it must be remembered that Microsoft did not make its world-class office suite in a day and it took years to fine-tune the product. Similarly, Zoho deserves a fair chance too, and more so because all its products are developed in India.It is here that India needs to learn from China, which has successfully built its own internet ecosystem.You name it, they have have it – from WeChat (messaging app) and TikTok to Baidu (Google of China), Bilibili (YouTube rival), Taobao (online shopping platform), DeepSeek (ChatGPT rival) and Alipay (digital wallet). Even mobile giant Huawei has moved on from the Android operating system (OS) and built its own OS.These companies not only dominate China's local market but also compete globally. Moreover, by restricting access to US-made apps like Google and Facebook, China has ensured that its citizens primarily use local tools, thereby promoting the domestic tech industry.In India, a major tech company can set shop to access its large talent pool primarily due to scant competition from local firms. In China, the same firm may fail to compete with local companies. And this has what powered China's economy and transformed it into the tech giant it is today.The US too, under Donald Trump, has been equally protective of its own tech companies. Earlier this year, Trump's threat of reciprocal tariffs saw India eliminate its 6% digital advertising tax, known as "Google tax", that affected US tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon.Similarly, India needs to back Zoho, a rarity in India's tech landscape. Unlike service-provider companies like TCS and Infosys, Zoho is more of a product-based company like Google. "We are not building just a company, we are building an ecosystem," as Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu put it.While challenges remain, Zoho deserves India's aha and not the brouhaha for now as it looks to be 'atmanirbhar' amid a geopolitical churn.
Government has gone the Zoho way. So why the brouhaha?
