Government’s ambitious ONDC platform launched in Bengaluru

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The Government of India ambitious Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) started its live beta testing on 30 September 2022 across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru, Karnataka. 

In April 2022, the Government launched the pilot phase of the open network for digital commerce in five cities – Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong and Coimbatore. 

ONDC is being launched to take on the multinational e-commerce giant Amazon and Flipkart which control around 60 % of the Indian e- commerce market.

What is ONDC?

What is Open Network for Digital Commerce(ONDC)

It is an ecommerce platform built by the government of India to enable the small kirana stores to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Unlike Amazon or Flipkart which is a closed system, ONDC is an open system with interoperability.

Who has set up the ONDC? 

Open Network for Digital Commerce is a private non-profit company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and industry to develop open networks for e-commerce. It was founded in April 2022. 

Many companies like Microsoft, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Phone Pe and others have invested in the project.

Target of the ONDC 

The government wants to raise the e-commerce reach in the country to 25% of the population in the next 2 years as compared to 8% at present. ONDC will play a key role in achieving the target.

It is targeting to sign 900 million buyers onboard and targeting 1.2 million sellers on the shared network within the next 5 years, while achieving a gross merchandise value of 48 billion dollars.