Entities looking to bulk register .in domains will now require approval from the CEO of the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), according to a notice issued by the authority on December 28. NIXI is the government-appointed authority responsible for managing .in domains. According to the notice, written approval from the CEO is required in the following two scenarios: Individual registrants looking to register more than two domains Registered accredited company looking to register more than a hundred domains The request must be submitted ceo@nixi.in, NIXI said. In case the above guidelines are not followed by registrars, NIXI has the right to disallow or disconnect the domains and initiate a process for de-accreditation of the concerned registrar, the notice stated. While at first, this new requirement appears to be a red tape that will unduly impact individual registrants, for whom the threshold of bulk buying is particularly low, NIXI clarifies that any approval will be provided within 24 hours of submission of request irrespective of weekly off or holiday. Important questions that remain unanswered What's the reason behind this new process? NIXI does not explain the rationale behind the new process but a possible reason could be the prevention of domain squatting. Who should submit the request? Currently, most individual buyers purchase domains through registrars like GoDaddy or Bluehost. It is not explicit if the buyers themselves have to request approval or the registrars will do so on behalf of the buyers. MediaNama has reached out to GoDaddy and Bluehost seeking clarifications and will…
