The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on March 20, 2026, through an addendum to its earlier Office Memorandum dated November 27, 2024, has issued guidelines to assist Central Ministries and Departments in selecting appropriate cloud infrastructure for hosting applications and data, along with suitable procurement approaches.
The guidelines require Ministries/Departments to classify their applications and data based on sensitivity and criticality in line with the National Information Security Policy & Guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Workloads categorized as “Top Secret” and “Secret” are not permitted on cloud platforms. Other workloads are divided into Category A (high-impact, sensitive data affecting national security or operations) and Category B (official-use data with relatively lower risk). An indicative framework maps these categories to suitable cloud deployment options.
For procurement, departments must follow the General Financial Rules, 2017 and may adopt multiple approaches, including nomination (e.g., through National Informatics Centre, State Data Centres, or PSUs like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), rate contracting via Digital India Corporation / NICSI, or open RFP/GeM routes using MeitY-empanelled cloud service providers. The memorandum is advisory in nature, allowing departments discretion in classification and cloud adoption decisions, and encourages forming internal committees with MeitY representation for guidance where required.
[Notification No. 9(3)/2025-EG-II]
