Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) – India’s e-commerce network to end the dominance of US companies Amazon and Walmart – will soon be opened to the public, an official said, according to a report. The pilot phase of India’s domestic digital commerce initiative began in April. In the cities of Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Coimbatore and Shillong, customers were allowed to transact on the UPI-type protocol. Through the ONDC platform, the government will mainly promote small traders and rural consumers. For the convenience of consumers in India, the app will be available in various Indian languages.
Speaking at the Saral 2022 Mega E-Commerce Summit, ONDC Chief Business Officer Shirish Joshi mentioned that the digital network will soon be opened to the public, as per a PTI report. The government is continuously working on the platform and will schedule general availability in the near future.
ONDC is India’s domestic effort in the e-commerce sector to counter the dominance of two large multinational e-commerce players – Amazon and Walmart. The two American companies currently control more than half of India’s e-commerce trade.
ONDC It will provide platform and space to small traders and rural consumers by raising standards for voluntary adoption by sellers, logistics providers or payment gateways.
The platform was launched in April. The move comes after India’s antitrust body raided several domestic sellers of Amazon and some of Flipkart’s Walmart following allegations of violations across the board.
