GIGW 3.0 Compliance for Citizen Portals: A Developer's Checklist
The Guidelines for Indian Government Websites and Apps (GIGW), version 3.0, are the design, accessibility, and content standards every government-facing digital service must meet. The document is long; the developer checklist is shorter. Here it is.
Key takeaways
- GIGW 3.0 layers on WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, India-specific design conventions, multilingual support, and content standards.
- Compliance is verifiable: STQC and CERT-In conduct audits.
- The expensive surprises are usually: multilingual UI, accessibility for users with disabilities, and document archive policy.
- Build for compliance from line one; retrofitting accessibility is 3-5x more expensive.
Why this matters
Government tenders and empanelment increasingly require GIGW 3.0 compliance as a gate. Non-compliance disqualifies vendors. Beyond procurement, citizens with disabilities use these services daily; design failures are real exclusions.
The compliance checklist
Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA + India-specific)
- All text-image contrast ≥4.5:1 (3:1 for large text)
- All interactive elements keyboard-accessible
- All images have alt text; decorative images marked
- Form labels properly associated with inputs
- Skip-to-content link
- Focus visible on all interactive elements
- No content depending on color alone for meaning
- Captions on videos
- Transcript or summary for audio
Multilingual
- Available in Hindi, English, and at least one regional language relevant to the portal's audience
- Language switcher accessible and consistent
- Right-to-left support if Urdu is included
Design & layout
- Government of India identity / logo placement consistent
- Responsive across mobile and desktop
- Clear navigation hierarchy
- Breadcrumbs on inner pages
- Search functionality
- Site map page
Content standards
- Plain language (no jargon without explanation)
- Active voice
- Date format consistent (DD-MM-YYYY)
- Currency in Indian Rupees with symbol ₹
- Phone numbers in standard Indian format
Security
- HTTPS only
- Strong cookie controls
- CSP and other security headers
- Vulnerability scanning evidence
Performance
- Page load under 3s on Fast 3G
- Image optimization
- Caching
Maintenance
- Last-updated timestamp on every page
- Document archive policy
- Broken-link checks
Privacy
- Privacy policy in compliant format
- Cookie banner with granular consent
- DPDP-aligned data handling
Document accessibility
- PDFs tagged and accessible
- Word documents structured (heading styles, alt text)
- Spreadsheets with proper headers
How to evidence
STQC and CERT-In audits check both the technical implementation and the documentation. Maintain:
- Accessibility audit reports
- Pentest reports
- Browser compatibility test results
- Performance test results
- Content review logs
Common pitfalls
Retrofitting accessibility. WCAG fixes after the fact are 3-5x more expensive. Design accessibly from the start.
Multilingual as afterthought. Translation costs and content workflow complexity surprise teams. Plan upfront.
Stale content. GIGW requires fresh content; stale "Last updated 2019" timestamps fail audits.
Document accessibility. Tagged PDFs are tedious; teams skip and fail.
What we recommend
Build GIGW compliance into your design system, not into a "compliance phase." Use a11y testing tools (axe, Lighthouse, WAVE) in CI. Run STQC pre-audit before formal audit.
FAQs
Does GIGW apply to all government websites? Yes, including state government and PSUs.
Penalty for non-compliance? Procurement disqualification more than fines.
Time to comply? 2-3 months for a typical portal redesign; longer for content-heavy archives.