How government website hosting in India is split
A ministry or a state department does not buy retail shared hosting and point a .gov.in name at it. The live site sits on National Informatics Centre infrastructure, or on that state's State Data Centre, after an authorised officer applies.
Boards, public sector units, civic bodies that were not given a .gov.in name, and co-operative societies are a different case. They use a public domain and an Indian host. WebJi® serves that second group. It is not NIC.
| Organisation | Name it usually uses | Where the live site sits |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry or state department | .gov.in | NIC or the State Data Centre |
| PSU, board, or civic body without .gov.in | .in, .co.in, .org.in, or .com | An Indian host, unless a parent department places it on NIC |
| Co-operative society | .in, .co.in, or .org.in | Ordinary Indian hosting. Not a government namespace |
| Vendor building a department site | A staging name, then the department's .gov.in | Staging on the vendor's host. Go-live only where the letter says |
Rajasthan's RISL hosting policy, as shown in its public PDF listing, requires departments to host websites, portals, and applications at the State Data Centre only. West Bengal runs State Data Centre hosting at hosting.wb.gov.in. Read the department's own letter before you pick a host.
What NIC and MeghRaj host for government sites
NIC, the National Informatics Centre, is the default host for central and state department websites. Its data centres and network carry those sites. A private company does not open a NIC account from a retail checkout. That account is not what web hosting is on a normal plan.
MeghRaj, also called GI Cloud, is the cloud layer on that government network. It supplies infrastructure and platform capacity when a department workload needs more than a simple site. It is still government hosting, not a plan on a private price list.
A private government community cloud is a separate product. India Tourism Development Corporation, in a case study Web Werks published, moved applications onto that company's cloud after asking for a MeitY-empanelled provider and Tier 3 facilities. WebJi® is not Web Werks. That one decision does not let every board skip NIC, and WebJi® does not claim MeitY empanelment.
Who can register a .gov.in domain
.gov.in is a government namespace. An eligible organisation applies at registry.gov.in. A company, a vendor, or a co-operative society cannot buy that name from a normal registrar.
WebJi® registers public extensions such as .in, .co.in, and .com. Domain registration in India lists those names. WebJi® does not sell .gov.in, and a .in name does not make a site a government site.
If the organisation already has .gov.in, the hosting letter names NIC or the State Data Centre. Pointing that name at a retail host can take the official site off the approved network. Do it only when the department's host says so.
What GIGW checks on a government website
GIGW, the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites, is the quality bar for government sites. It covers identity, content, accessibility, and security. It is not a hosting plan and it is not a logo pack.
- HTTPS on the public name, with a certificate that matches that name.
- A visible government identity, rather than a vendor logo alone.
- Hindi and English when the department requires both.
- A named content owner, and a way for a citizen to reach the department.
- Primary links that resolve, with no leftover staging banner.
STQC, the Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification directorate, tests critical government sites against security baselines. The checks include a vulnerability assessment, a configuration review, and periodic re-certification. Ask whether this launch needs that audit. Do not invent a certificate the tender does not name.
Data localisation and STQC audits for government sites
For a department site, keep the live files and the backups in India when the hosting letter or the tender says so. A server that is only reachable from India is not the same as a server in India.
Payment data follows a different rule. The Reserve Bank of India requires payment-system data to be stored in India. That rule is for banks and payment firms, not for a co-operative society's brochure. Do not treat the two as one hosting product.
WebJi®'s data centres are in India, with a published uptime target of 99.9%. Personal-data handling is described on the DPDP compliance page. The DPDP Act does not, by itself, turn every private site into a NIC workload.
Hosting for PSUs, boards and co-operative societies
A PSU, a board, a civic body without a .gov.in name, or a co-operative society can use an Indian provider. The site is still a public website. It is not a ministry site, and GIGW applies only when that body is required to follow it.
WebJi® hosts that adjacent work: the organisation's own site, and a vendor's staging copy. Email support@webji.services with the organisation type. The quote is in INR before you pay, and the invoice adds 18% GST. Support is 24/7 email in Hindi and English, with an average first reply under 60 minutes.
The Jaipur number is the registered office, not a support line. Cloud hosting in India fits when the site needs more than one shared account. Free migration is subject to terms and approval. WebJi® will not describe a retail account as a State Data Centre.
Vendor checklist for a government website in India
Finish these six checks before anyone pays for hosting. The letter from the department outranks a retail checkout.
- Classify the body. If it is a ministry or a state department, get the NIC or State Data Centre letter before you buy hosting.
- Classify the name. .gov.in is an application at registry.gov.in. Every other organisation uses a public extension such as .in or .com.
- Write where the files and the backups will sit. If the letter says India, an overseas server that loads quickly in India does not qualify.
- List the GIGW items the department will check: HTTPS, government identity, language, a content owner, and primary links that resolve.
- Ask whether STQC or another audit is named in the tender, and keep the vulnerability scan and the configuration notes.
- Email support@webji.services with those answers. You receive an INR quote before payment. The invoice adds 18% GST.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Indian government websites hosted?
Ministries and departments are hosted on NIC or a State Data Centre, usually on a .gov.in name. A board, PSU, or co-operative society that was not placed on NIC uses an Indian hosting account and a public domain. WebJi® hosts that second group only.
What is NIC hosting?
NIC, the National Informatics Centre, runs the government's data centres and network for central and state department sites. MeghRaj, also called GI Cloud, is the cloud layer for workloads that need infrastructure or a platform. A private firm does not open that account from a retail order form.
Can a private company host a government website in India?
A private host may run a site for a board, a PSU, a civic body, or a co-operative society when that body is not required to use NIC. It should not host a ministry's live .gov.in site unless the department's letter allows it. WebJi® is not NIC and does not register .gov.in.
What is MeghRaj cloud?
MeghRaj, the Government of India's GI Cloud, is NIC's cloud service inside government hosting. It adds infrastructure and platform capacity for department workloads that outgrow a simple website. It is not a plan on a private host's price card.
What does GIGW require on a government website?
GIGW, the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites, sets how a government site identifies itself, presents content, meets accessibility, and stays secure. Vendors usually prepare HTTPS, a clear government identity, Hindi and English when required, a named content owner, and working primary links.
Who can register a .gov.in domain?
An eligible government organisation applies at registry.gov.in. A company, a co-operative society, or a vendor cannot buy .gov.in from a normal registrar. WebJi® registers .in, .co.in, and .com, and it does not sell .gov.in.
Where should a government site's data be stored?
When the letter or the tender says India, the live site and its backups should be in an Indian data centre. Reachable from India is not the same thing. WebJi®'s data centres are in India. Bank payment data follows Reserve Bank of India rules, which are a different product from this hosting question.