Ashwini Vaishnaw shifts to Zoho office suite, backs Modi’s call for Swadeshi push

The move is being seen as a strong endorsement of the government’s “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) initiative.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Vaishnaw wrote: “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.”

Zoho founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu welcomed the announcement, saying: “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 announcement comes amid the Centre’s push to promote local technology and cut reliance on foreign platforms.

It follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with traders and merchants in Arunachal Pradesh, where he reiterated his call to “buy Swadeshi and sell Swadeshi.”

Local businesses credited reforms such as GST rationalisation for reducing construction costs, making raw materials more affordable, and boosting domestic manufacturing.

Industry voices also highlighted that GST cuts have given momentum to tourism, fisheries, and agriculture.

Modi assured them that the government remains committed to supporting local products as part of his vision of a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India).

Vaishnaw’s move to Zoho, though symbolic, is being viewed as a significant step in encouraging wider adoption of homegrown software solutions and strengthening India’s tech ecosystem.