Hindi Web Addresses Go Live On Government Portals

In a landmark shift towards digital inclusivity, many Union government websites are now using Hindi domain names, following years of advocacy by the Universal Acceptance (UA) movement.

One of the most prominent examples is the Ministry of Home Affairs, now accessible at गृहमंत्रालय.सरकार.भारत.

This initiative promotes the use of Indian languages online and is seen as a major step toward making the internet more accessible for non-English speakers.

Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) & Email Integration

The push falls under broader UA efforts, which focus on internationalised domain names (IDNs) and multilingual email addresses.

These allow websites and emails to exist in scripts other than Latin, including Devanagari, Tamil, and other Indian languages.

With increasing browser and email service support for these features, the backend processes convert non-English addresses into readable ASCII-based ‘Punycode’ while presenting users with the intended script.

Challenges In Adoption

Despite technical feasibility, widespread adoption has been slow.

The government has promoted IDNs like .भारत, including versions in 22 Indian languages such as .இந்தியா for Tamil.

However, private sector adoption remains limited. Many Indian language websites still use Latin-script addresses, and a Google search for Tamil IDN websites returns fewer than a page of results.

Government agencies have taken the lead in encouraging adoption.

Apart from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), and the Ministry of Minority Affairs have embraced Hindi URLs, at least for their Hindi-language pages.

The IT Ministry and NIXI have also launched Bhashanet, a platform that helps organisations transition to IDNs and adopt regional language web infrastructure.

Need For Incentives

Ajay Data, a technology CEO and long-time advocate of UA, underscored at a recent Delhi event that the issue is no longer technical.

“Just raising awareness and fighting about adoption and delivery is not the issue. We need a benefit,” he said.

Data emphasized the need for tangible incentives to encourage organisations to shift from English by default to regional language domains and email services.

While progress remains gradual, the government’s commitment to setting the example may pave the way for broader adoption.

With better incentives and public awareness, India’s internet infrastructure could become more inclusive, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the nation and ensuring that more citizens can navigate the web in their native tongues.

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