“Made in India, Made for the World”: Sridhar Vembu Doubles Down on Zoho’s Swadeshi Commitment

In India’s fast-evolving tech story, few companies have managed to hold on to their roots as firmly as Zoho Corporation. And fewer still have done so while commanding global respect. This week, Zoho’s founder Sridhar Vembu once again reminded the world what the company stands for: a homegrown, Swadeshi software enterprise that builds in India, stays in India, and serves customers across the globe.

His reaffirmation didn’t just come out of the blue. It followed growing chatter online—some of it misleading—about Zoho’s global footprint and data practices. Vembu took to social media to set the record straight, issuing a detailed clarification on what he described as “a lot of false information.” What emerged from his post was not just a rebuttal—it was a blueprint for what self-reliant Indian technology can look like.

And just as his words found their audience, the Union government gave Zoho a strong symbolic endorsement of its own. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while addressing the media after a Cabinet meeting on September 24, revealed that his official presentation had been prepared not on Microsoft PowerPoint, but on Zoho Show, the company’s in-house alternative.

“Keeping with the spirit of Swadeshi, the presentation I am about to make before you was prepared using Zoho. It was not made on Microsoft PowerPoint, but Zoho,” Vaishnaw told reporters.

That simple choice of tool, coming from the country’s telecom and IT minister, spoke volumes about the government’s increasing confidence in homegrown digital platforms.

Vembu’s Five-Point Swadeshi Tech Doctrine

In his detailed clarification, Vembu laid out five key points that explain Zoho’s model of technological independence:

1. Built and headquartered in India
“All Zoho products are developed in India. Our global headquarters is in Chennai,” he emphasized. Not just that—Zoho pays taxes in India on its entire global income. While the company has operations across more than 80 countries, including a large presence in the US, its roots and leadership remain firmly in India.

2. Indian data stays in India
Data sovereignty is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a national security priority. Vembu made it clear that customer data of Indian users is hosted domestically, across Zoho’s own data centers in Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, with another one coming up in Odisha. Globally too, Zoho operates over 18 regional data centers, each keeping its respective country’s data local.

3. Built on indigenous infrastructure
Unlike many SaaS giants that lean heavily on third-party cloud providers, Zoho has chosen the harder path of building its own stack. From hardware to software frameworks, Zoho owns and operates its infrastructure, layered over open-source platforms like Linux and Postgres. This ensures control, independence, and resilience.

4. No AWS, Azure, or GCloud dependency
One of the biggest misconceptions Zoho faces is around cloud hosting. Vembu put that to rest: “We do not host our products on AWS or Azure... Arattai specifically is not hosted on AWS or Azure or GCloud.” While some global cloud services may be used for traffic routing, no customer data ever resides outside Zoho’s own systems.

5. The legacy app store listing
As for why Zoho’s app store accounts show a US address, Vembu explained that it was simply a relic of the early days. The account was created by a US-based employee for testing and was never updated.

A Larger Swadeshi Movement

Vembu closed his post with a statement that neatly captures Zoho’s ethos:
“We are proudly ‘Made in India, Made for the World’—and we mean it.”

This isn’t just rhetoric. It aligns directly with India’s flagship initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India, which aim to build global-class solutions within the country.

The government, too, seems to be rallying around this vision. Just recently, Union Minister Piyush Goyal praised Zoho’s messaging app Arattai, saying, “Nothing beats the feeling of using a Swadeshi product. So proud to be on Arattai, a Made in India messaging platform that brings India closer.”

Vembu has also been engaging with top policymakers—meeting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week—as India pushes for wider adoption of domestic digital platforms.

Why Zoho’s Model Matters

Zoho’s story is not just about one company’s philosophy. It’s about proving that global-scale innovation doesn’t have to come from Silicon Valley—it can just as easily come from Chennai, Tenkasi, or any part of India.

By building its own infrastructure, ensuring data sovereignty, and refusing to lean on global cloud giants, Zoho is offering a template for technological independence. For a country like India, which is both a massive digital market and an emerging tech powerhouse, this model could define the next decade of innovation.

And when India’s top ministers use Zoho products in official government work, it signals a larger shift: Swadeshi tech is no longer just a patriotic choice—it’s becoming a practical, reliable, and scalable alternative.

As global recognition of Zoho continues to grow, Vembu’s message is timely. The company is not just surviving in the brutally competitive world of SaaS; it is thriving—on its own terms, with its own stack, and without compromising on its Swadeshi identity.

India has long aspired to build companies that can rival global tech giants while staying rooted at home. Zoho’s journey shows that it is possible—and perhaps even preferable.

As the government, industry, and consumers rally around the idea of “Made in India, Made for the World,” Zoho’s path could well become the blueprint for a new generation of Indian tech enterprises.