IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw switches to Zoho, urges Indians to go Swadeshi; founder Sridhar Vembu responds

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that he is moving to Zoho, a homegrown platform for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, in a strong endorsement of the government’s “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) initiative.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Vaishnaw said, “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.”

The move comes as part of the Centre’s larger push for promoting indigenous technology and reducing dependence on foreign platforms.


Responding to the minister’s announcement, Zoho founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu expressed gratitude, writing,
“Thank you Sir, this is a huge morale boost for our engineers who have worked hard for over two decades to build our product suite. We will make you proud and make our nation proud. Jai Hind.”



The development follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent interaction with traders and merchants in Arunachal Pradesh, where he reiterated his call to “buy Swadeshi and sell Swadeshi.” Local traders praised reforms like GST rationalisation under the PM’s leadership, saying it had lowered construction costs, made raw materials cheaper, and boosted domestic manufacturing.

Industry representatives also pointed out that GST cuts have given a strong push to tourism, fisheries, and agriculture. PM Modi assured them that the government will continue to champion local products, reinforcing his vision of a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India).

Vaishnaw’s move to Zoho is being seen as a symbolic yet significant step toward encouraging Indians to adopt homegrown software solutions and support the nation’s growing tech ecosystem.