Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is now available for the Bengaluru public from Friday onwards. The ONDC is part of the beta testing process of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry initiative to assist small retailers and lessen the dominance of e-commerce platforms.
ONDC is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The Ministry of Commerce will make its network available to consumers in 16 pin codes across Bengaluru city.
The ONDC is planned in such a way that two e-commerce companies will dominate the business. The e-commerce giants account for more than 50 per cent of India’s e-commerce business activity. Favoritism towards particular vendors, however, regulates market access and lowers supplier margins.
The ONDC, a section 8 company, is an initiative of the Department of Promotions of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce. It was assimilated on December 31st, 2021.
It proposes to create a framework to transform e-commerce by giving greater thrust to making inroads into retail e-commerce in India.
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) a democratic technology
The Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal, has called the ONDC a “democratic” technology and program that would empower small businesses and buyers.
The Ministry of Commerce, through Twitter, said Bengaluru consumers would get a whole new shopping experience.
The ONDC has got a guarantee from 20 national-level organisations for Rs 255 crore.
It has got guarantee investment previously from lenders including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India
“Beta test will give us insights to further expansion to all over the country, in Bengaluru we have to choose difficult categories like groceries and restaurants,” said T.Koshy MD and CEO, ONDC
On September 27, Bank of Baroda announced that it had invested Rs 10 crore in ONDC through a private placement.
According to the bank’s regulatory filing, with the investment, the Bank of Baroda will own 5.56 per cent of ONDC.
Experimental phase in five cities
The Ministry of Commerce stated that ONDC is planning to start its programme in the experimental phase in five cities: Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Coimbatore, and Shillong from April 2024.
ONDC gives access to its customers through a single buyer application of their choice from multiple categories of goods and services. At the time of release, PayTM Mystore and Spicemoney are available buyer applications.
Multiple buyer applications can be used to buy groceries or order meals through Uengage, Shop, SellerApp, nStore, Mystore, Innobits, Growth Falcons, Go Frugal, eVitalrx, e-Samudaay, Digiit, and Bizom.
Besides, Dunzo, Loadshare, and Shiprocket will be providing logistics services, and gateway services are provided by Protean eGov Technologies, previously NSDL eGOV.
The banks like Kotak Bank, IDFC Bank, HDFC Bank and eKart are in the progressive stage of engagement and will go live in a short period.
Many more applications are going to join the network, expanding both buyers and sellers who can participate in the transaction.
The launch of such buyer applications makes e-commerce more accessible, inclusive, and experience-driven for all buyers and sellers.
Alpha test phase
Earlier in April, the ONDC started its Alpha test phase with a closed group of buyers, initially in Bengaluru. The program is planned to expand to over 80 cities by September 2022.
Now in the beta testing phase, the general public can experience shopping through ONDC and provide quick feedback for any necessary action if any before expanding further.
to set up faith among buyers, sellers, and network participants like buyer applications, seller applications, and gateways in the open network.
ONDC has assessed the current ecosystem and studied the best practices for adapting and evolving the best approach to construct belief in a disconnected network.
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