In a major milestone, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative of the Department of Industry and Internal Trade Promotion (DPIIT), has opened its network to customers at 16 locations in Bengaluru city, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Friday.
Initially, customers can place orders across two domains – grocery and restaurants – through participating shopper apps on the ONDC network.
ONDC’s beta testing in the city of Bengaluru is a major first step in implementing a network approach to e-commerce as an alternative to a platform-centric approach. It will make the e-commerce landscape more inclusive, accessible and experience-driven for all consumers and sellers, the ministry said. said,
Consumers can now shop across multiple categories of products and services from a single shopper application of their choice. They can buy grocery products or order food from stores and restaurants. In the coming weeks, many more applications will join the network, expanding both the buyers and sellers who can participate in this transaction.
ONDC started its alpha testing phase in April 2022 first with a closed user group of buyers in Bengaluru and expanded to over 80 cities by September 2022. This led to validation of apps and confirmation of business and operational flows. Now in beta testing phase, general public can experience shopping through ONDC and provide early feedback for necessary action before further expansion.
To build trust between consumers, vendors and network participants (buyer apps, seller apps and gateways) in an open network, ONDC has consulted with existing ecosystems, experts and examined best practices to adopt and develop best approaches to build trust in an unbundled decentralized network. . This is explained in the consultation paper made available for public consultation on the official social media handle and website of DPIIT, ONDC.
Incorporated on December 31, 2021, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Section 8 company, an initiative of the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, envisions an accessible model to revolutionize digital commerce, retail in India. Increases penetration of e-commerce. ONDC is not an application, platform, intermediary or software, but a set of features designed to promote open, unbundled and interoperable open networks that eliminate dependency on a single platform.
