As the US has tightened H-1B visa rules, making it harder for Indian techies to work in the US, Indian government officials seem to be hitting back in their own way.
India’s Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has said that he’s switching to Zoho, India’s homegrown suite that competes with Microsoft Office and Google products. “I am moving to Zoho — our own Swadeshi platform for documents, spreadsheets & presentations,” he posted on X. “I urge all to join PM Shri Narendra Modi ji’s call for Swadeshi by adopting indigenous products & services,” he added.
“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,” said Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu. “We will make you proud and make our nation proud. Jai Hind,” he added.
Zoho is an Indian multinational technology firm best known for its comprehensive suite of web-based business tools and office productivity applications, catering to organizations of all sizes worldwide. Founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu, it offers over 80 applications spanning sales, marketing, finance, HR, IT, analytics, and more—positioning itself as a “Swiss Army knife” of business software. Its offerings can be purchased à la carte or as bundled suites, the most notable being Zoho One—an integrated package that delivers 45+ apps designed to function as an “Operating System for Business.” Zoho is one of India’s most profitable internet companies and reported a profit of Rs. 2,836 crore in FY23.
Zoho competes with Google and Microsoft for productivity tools. India is a massive market for both companies, which have hundreds of millions of users in the country. There has been concern around Indians relying so extensively on foreign services—Microsoft, for instance, had earlier banned its services for an Indian company over links with Russia, later restoring them after outrage on social media. Shortly after, the US announced an additional $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, making it harder for Indian employees to work in the US.
The Indian government now seems to be hitting back, with the IT Minister saying that he’s switching to Zoho and encouraging others to do the same. Zoho’s product may be a little rough around the edges at times, but Indians might prefer to support a homegrown company over a foreign competitor. And if this initiative takes off, Zoho might end up finding a big new userbase in the country of its origin.