Just days ago, the Ministry of Education pushed for the mandatory use of Zoho Office Suite by its personnel for all official purposes. Doing so, the Government of India further reiterated taking a “bold step in the Swadeshi movement” and “empowering India to lead with homegrown innovation,” given the Indian tech giant’s “indigenous office productivity tools.”

Despite the Department of Higher Education’s official memo embracing Zoho Corporation’s online office platform, the reactions to the move haven’t necessarily been all positive. On one side, the ministry said, “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.” On the other, some questioned the delay in the implementation of a tender that was originally reported over two years ago.

Row over Zoho at Education Ministry

The debate over the issue was particularly sparked by TV anchor Sumanth Raman, who questioned the Indian government’s intent behind picking “individual companies.” On October 4, he wrote on X, “Asking people to adopt products of desi companies is one thing. Naming just one company is quite another.”

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This quickly prompted the official Zoho Workplace account to respond to the heated discussion, saying, “Zoho was selected as the vendor following a tender issued in 2023 by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to implement a secure, cloud-based email and office suite solution for Government offices and PSUs.

Offering further clarification, the account plugged a 2023 Hindustan Times article backing the news. “The Zoho office suite referenced in this circular is part of the same implementation, specifically tailored for Government departments and PSUs,” they added. At the time HT even quoted an official familiar with the development, saying that initially two companies were in line to be included. However, one was picked “after technical shortlisting.”

Raman was still not satisfied with the clarification, and he raised even more questions about why a 2023 tender had not been implemented until September 2025. Meanwhile, other professionals countered his claims, insisting that a contract is not a public document, and such things take time.

More Zoho backlash

The divisive reception also followed Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu challenging Microsoft. Aligning with the government’s ‘Swadeshi’ push, he posted last week, “We are the only company in the world that can take on Microsoft in the breadth and depth of the product suite. Our products offer a vastly superior experience to Microsoft, please take a good look!”

A netizen hailed Zoho’s potential in response to Vembu’s claims of the company taking on international competition. However, they countered, “When leaders of an organisation start making more noise than their work, the end is usually not of anyone’s liking.”

A second person chimed in, “No hate on Zoho, i have been customer of them for past 4 years but Microsoft is Groundbreaking and revolutionary and Zoho isn’t. Going behind nationalism doesn’t help you to win the markets.”

Dragging the company for its alignment with the Indian government, another user commented on X, “Zoho and its founder are making a lot of noise lately wearing the robe of nationalism and giving plenty of interviews. But all these signs seem less like those of a company rising to success and more like one heading toward decline.” They also bemoaned, “That’s doomsday for a company when the government starts pushing for it instead of customers naturally choosing it.”

Netizens come out in support of Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu after Education Ministry directive

As critics spoke out against “government favouritism” towards Vembu and Zoho amid the company’s messaging app Arattai’s new-found fame, others stood by the tech company’s founder. With hundreds of thousands of followers on X, a user named Aravind hit out against Sridhar Vembu haters.

“I have been noticing attacks on @svembu, his company @Zoho, and their products by Indians themselves now just because GoI is endorsing them and they are gaining traction,” he wrote online last night. “This is very bad crab mentality which is not good for the country. It’s time people doing this get out of a silly political mindset. The US govt or China endorse and support their companies to a great extent and that’s how they make them big and powerful.”

Calling out the reliance on foreign tech for basic needs like messaging and email, the user added, “Trying to bring down our own good, innovative, employment giving companies who have actually helped thousands of Indians skill, get a decent job, and rise in rural areas, because of political differences will keep us forever weak. The repercussions will hurt every Indian in the long term. Get out of this political mentality and help the nation grow. Or it will come to affect you personally one day soon.”

Someone replied to Aravind, saying, “It might look to some that he’s endorsing them only because of GoI. But this is 29 years of fighting alone in the field. Instead of feeling proud to use their products and support Make in India, passing such comments on @svembu and @Zoho is just shameful.”

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Another popular account tweeted, “It’s disheartening to see continuous attacks on @svembu, @Zoho, and other Indian innovators- not from abroad, but from our own Citizens- just because they’re now being supported by the Govt of India… Zoho has created thousands of jobs, trained youth in rural India, and proved that world-class innovation can come from Indian soil. To target such companies for political reasons is to attack India’s own future.”

The same account said in a separate post, “The coordinated outrage against #Zoho is so predictable by the entire Ecosystem” at this point. It was never about #Adani or #Ambani. Now it’s Zoho- a homegrown company built without political crutches, foreign funding or shady loopholes and suddenly it’s the new villain?”

Monica Jasuja, a Fintech product management expert, also added to the discussion. Speaking out in support of Zoho, she wrote, “We can’t say we want India to build global tech giants and then pull them down the moment they get recognition. Criticism is healthy, but not when it comes from insecurity. Support what’s built here, refine it, don’t ridicule it.”

Yet another user drew parallels between the rising criticism against Vembu (and Zoho), and the anti-Tesla jargon spurred by Elon Musk’s prior role as the head of Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “Actually this is the same behaviour as America,” the person commented. “Remember how many Americans burnt their Teslas once Trump endorsed Musk?”