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GIGW 3.0 · STQC · NIC

Surveillance evidence for Indian government portals.

GIGW 3.0 is the mandatory standard for ministries, departments, and PSUs. AccessSure produces the WCAG 2.1 AA evidence pack STQC empanelled auditors accept — continuously, between formal audits.

Run a GIGW re-verificationRead the official GIGW guidelines

What it is

The standard NIC publishes and STQC certifies against.

GIGW 3.0 — Guidelines for Indian Government Websites and Apps — is the framework every Central and State government portal, every PSU, and every government-funded site must conform to. NIC publishes the standard. STQC empanelled audit bodies verify it.

The accessibility baseline is WCAG 2.1 Level AA, evidenced page by page. The content baseline is bilingual, plain-language, and dated. The design baseline is sovereign branding and a consistent navigation pattern. The security baseline aligns with CERT-In advisories and DPDPA principles for citizen data.

Certification is point-in-time. Real portals ship every month. That gap is what AccessSure closes.

What the audit covers

Four pillars in every STQC review.

  1. Accessibility

    WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance is the GIGW accessibility baseline. Government portals must be operable by citizens with visual, motor, and cognitive disabilities — and STQC verifies it.

  2. Content & language

    Bilingual content in English and the official regional language(s), plain-language drafting, dated updates, accessible PDFs and downloadable forms.

  3. Design & navigation

    Sovereign branding (Emblem, ministry name, India.gov.in linkage), consistent navigation pattern, mobile-responsive layout, accessible search, sitemap.

  4. Security & data

    HTTPS mandatory, CERT-In aligned controls, DPDPA-aligned handling of citizen data, gov.in or nic.in domain, periodic security audits.

Mandatory pages & features

The checklist auditors verify first.

FeatureRequirement
Skip to main contentMandatory
Sitemap pageMandatory
SearchMandatory
Accessibility statementMandatory
Privacy policyMandatory
Terms of useMandatory
Feedback / contact formMandatory
Last reviewed / updated dateMandatory
Bilingual supportMandatory
Visitor counterRecommended

Common questions

What government and PSU teams ask.

What is GIGW 3.0?
GIGW 3.0 (Guidelines for Indian Government Websites and Apps, version 3.0) is the standard published by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under MeitY, defining accessibility, design, content, and security requirements for all Indian government and PSU websites. STQC empanelled auditors verify conformance and issue the certificate that government departments rely on for their compliance posture.
Is GIGW mandatory for government websites in India?
Yes. Government circulars require all Central and State government ministries, departments, and PSU portals to comply with GIGW and obtain STQC certification. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 reinforces the accessibility obligation.
How is GIGW 3.0 different from GIGW 2.0?
GIGW 3.0 (released 2023) tightens the accessibility baseline to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, adds explicit mobile-app guidance, modernises the security expectations to align with CERT-In advisories, and incorporates DPDPA-relevant data handling principles. GIGW 2.0 referenced WCAG 2.0 and pre-dated the mobile-first reality.
What does an STQC audit cover?
An STQC audit covers GIGW conformance end-to-end: accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA evidence per page), mandatory pages and features, design and branding, security posture, content quality, and the accessibility statement. The output is a certification valid for a defined period, with periodic surveillance expected.
How does AccessSure help with GIGW compliance?
AccessSure runs the accessibility re-verification pass between formal STQC audits. It crawls the live site with a real Chromium browser, captures annotated screenshots for every WCAG 2.1 AA finding, maps each issue to the specific success criterion, and exports a pack in the format STQC empanelled auditors accept. It also tracks the mandatory-pages checklist (sitemap, accessibility statement, last-updated dates).
Can AccessSure issue a GIGW certificate?
No. Only STQC empanelled audit bodies can issue the GIGW certificate. AccessSure produces the evidence pack that goes to the auditor — shortening their review and giving the department continuous visibility between formal audits.
Does AccessSure handle bilingual content?
Yes. AccessSure scans both the English and regional-language versions of pages you provide, and the report flags missing language declarations (lang attribute) per WCAG 3.1.1, which is a common failure point on bilingual portals.

Procurement-ready, STQC-format evidence.

GSTIN, DPDPA annexures, PO-based procurement, on-premise option for sovereign data. Talk to us about your tender.

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