Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC)

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22-May-2023: Open Network for Digital Commerce created to democratise the existing ecommerce ecosystem of the country: Shri Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was created to democratise the existing ecommerce ecosystem of the country during his virtual address at the “ONDC Elevate” program in Bengaluru.  Shri Goyal chaired the program and said that ONDC is an engine of growth that has the potential to redefine the industry completely.

The Minister said that a significant number of sellers on the network is itself a testimony to ONDC's impact as digital commerce is being re-imagined. Shri Goyal engaged with all Network Participants during the Open House, noting their feedback and guiding them to redouble their efforts to democratize digital commerce in India. The Minister also noted in response to queries from participants that, “any marketplace joining ONDC should come with serious commitment, and not for namesake”. He also pointed out that when a platform comes on ONDC, it should be in the spirit of give and take, and not just simply taking benefit from the network without contributing back to its progress.

“ONDC Elevate” commemorated ONDC's one-year completion, fostering a collaborative environment by bringing together participants and ecosystem players of the network. It provided a platform for open discussions on accomplishments to date and facilitated brainstorming sessions to shape the future trajectory of ONDC.

The members of the ONDC Advisory Council – Dilip Asbe, CEO, NPCI, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Capacity Building Commission and Jaxay Shah, Chairman, QCI also attended the event. This interactive session gave participants the opportunity to share their suggestions, and to benefit from the guidance of the Hon’ble Minister and the advisory council members.

Shri T. Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC said that as ONDC completes a year of its operations, it's an ideal time to take a look back on what has been achieved so far while preparing for the future. He said that from 5 cities to 236 cities, the network has continuously evolved with diverse participation of merchants.

The group also discussed the various milestones ONDC has completed in the past year. From the launch of beta testing on September 29, 2022, ONDC has scaled to 36,000 sellers, 45+ Network participants and 8+ categories, with a weekly average of 13,000+ retail orders and 36,000+ mobility rides per day with peak transactions reaching 25,000 retail orders on a day. The workshop also focused on the impact ONDC is generating, especially for SHGs and non-digitized sellers.

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22-May-2023: Open Network for Digital Commerce created to democratise the existing ecommerce ecosystem of the country: Shri Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was created to democratise the existing ecommerce ecosystem of the country during his virtual address at the “ONDC Elevate” program in Bengaluru.  Shri Goyal chaired the program and said that ONDC is an engine of growth that has the potential to redefine the industry completely.

The Minister said that a significant number of sellers on the network is itself a testimony to ONDC's impact as digital commerce is being re-imagined. Shri Goyal engaged with all Network Participants during the Open House, noting their feedback and guiding them to redouble their efforts to democratize digital commerce in India. The Minister also noted in response to queries from participants that, “any marketplace joining ONDC should come with serious commitment, and not for namesake”. He also pointed out that when a platform comes on ONDC, it should be in the spirit of give and take, and not just simply taking benefit from the network without contributing back to its progress.

“ONDC Elevate” commemorated ONDC's one-year completion, fostering a collaborative environment by bringing together participants and ecosystem players of the network. It provided a platform for open discussions on accomplishments to date and facilitated brainstorming sessions to shape the future trajectory of ONDC.

The members of the ONDC Advisory Council – Dilip Asbe, CEO, NPCI, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Capacity Building Commission and Jaxay Shah, Chairman, QCI also attended the event. This interactive session gave participants the opportunity to share their suggestions, and to benefit from the guidance of the Hon’ble Minister and the advisory council members.

Shri T. Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC said that as ONDC completes a year of its operations, it's an ideal time to take a look back on what has been achieved so far while preparing for the future. He said that from 5 cities to 236 cities, the network has continuously evolved with diverse participation of merchants.

The group also discussed the various milestones ONDC has completed in the past year. From the launch of beta testing on September 29, 2022, ONDC has scaled to 36,000 sellers, 45+ Network participants and 8+ categories, with a weekly average of 13,000+ retail orders and 36,000+ mobility rides per day with peak transactions reaching 25,000 retail orders on a day. The workshop also focused on the impact ONDC is generating, especially for SHGs and non-digitized sellers.

2022

6-Apr-2022: ONDC Project

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is an initiative aiming at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks. ONDC is to be based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.

The foundations of ONDC are to be open protocols for all aspects in the entire chain of activities in exchange of goods and services, similar to hypertext transfer protocol for information exchange over internet, simple mail transfer protocol for exchange of emails and unified payments interface for payments.

These open protocols would be used for establishing public digital infrastructure in the form of open registries and open network gateways to enable exchange of information between providers and consumers. Providers and consumers would be able to use any compatible application of their choice for exchange of information and carrying out transactions over ONDC.

Thus, ONDC goes beyond the current platform-centric digital commerce model where the buyer and seller have to use the same platform or application to be digitally visible and do a business transaction.

ONDC protocols would standardize operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order management and order fulfilment. Thus, small businesses would be able to use any ONDC compatible applications instead of being governed by specific platform centric policies. This will provide multiple options to small businesses to be discoverable over network and conduct business. It would also encourage easy adoption of digital means by those currently not on digital commerce networks.

ONDC is expected to make e-Commerce more inclusive and accessible for consumers. Consumers can potentially discover any seller, product or service by using any compatible application or platform, thus increasing freedom of choice for consumers. It will enable the consumers to match demand with the nearest available supply. This would also give consumers the liberty to choose their preferred local businesses. Thus, ONDC would standardize operations, promote inclusion of local suppliers, drive efficiencies in logistics and lead to enhancement of value for consumers.

19-Mar-2022: Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) will democratise e-commerce and help protect small businesses – Shri Piyush Goyal

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) would democratize e-commerce and will protect small businesses by granting them equal opportunity.

He was virtually addressing the fifth edition of the annual Launchpad-The Entrepreneurship Summit organized by BITS, Pilani today. Paying his tributes to Shri Nanaji Deshmukh, an illustrious alumnus of BITS Pilani, Shri Goyal said that his life and work has been an inspiration to many.

Quoting Steve Jobs, the Minister said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. Highlighting that BITS had a history of producing innovators and risk takers, he spoke of a number of BITSians who had successfully ventured into diverse fields like cinema, writing, business and even social service.

He opined that the motto of BITS, ‘knowledge is supreme power’, is more relevant than ever in today’s era of knowledge economy. Observing that BITS students had made a name for themselves in the world of innovation and entrepreneurship, the Minister pointed out that 10% of India’s unicorns were founded by BITS alumni.

Shri Goyal said that laboratories, mentorship, incubators and funding are the four essential elements for a healthy startup ecosystem and added that the Centre of Incubation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at BITS provided all four.

He applauded the flexible academic structure of BITS that aided innovation during the college years of the students and said that it resonated in large measure with the new education policy that the Government has introduced after extensive consultations.   He asked other colleges to learn from the BITS model and mould job creators rather than job seekers.

Referring to Startups as the innovation engine for the country, Shri  Goyal said today, we are the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world. It may be noted that in 5 years, the number of startups registered with DPIIT went up from 500 to more than 65,000 and there are more than 90 unicorns in the nation.

Reiterating that ‘an idea can change your life’, the Minister spoke of the USB innovator Mr. Ajay Bhatt from Vadodara who developed the technology with the goal of making data portable like never before.

Shri Goyal underscored that entrepreneurship is all about disruption and change.  Outlining the many disruptions India has been witnessing across the board such as the way we buy goods online, access digital healthcare consultations, make payments though UPI etc., he said that things had changed fundamentally.

He asked entrepreneurs to not be afraid of failures. Failures are part of an entrepreneur’s journey, so take it ‘lite’, he said, referring to the BITS language for remaining calm. Don’t give up, persevere harder, become bolder, engage with newer ideas and thoughts, he added.

Stating that new India is filled with new energy, enthusiasm and confidence, the Minister said that it no longer seeks incremental change but thirsts for transformations. He asserted that an AtmaNirbhar India was now striving to engage with the world from a position of strength.

Speaking of the great leaps India was taking in areas like fintech, AgriTech and marketplaces, Shri Goyal said that PM Modi had given the mantra of IT + IT = IT (Info Technology + Indian Talent = India Tomorrow) for India’s future. He said that we must aspire to make IT and associated sector a trillion-dollar industry.

The Minister said that India was leading in building Digital Public Infrastructure and added that the penetration of smartphones and low cost of data has laid the foundation for disruptive innovation at scale. With digital infrastructure like IndiaStack, Healthstack, Logistics Stack, CoWIN, the next trillion-dollar companies can be created in India, he said.

Shri Goyal said that today, developed countries around the world wanted to learn about building digital public infrastructure from us. Scale and pace of digitization in Indian is something unheard of and could be the topic of PhD thesis, he added.

Listing the several steps taken by Government in its role as the as the facilitator to strengthen the startup ecosystem such as Fund of Funds for Startups, Income Tax exemption for 3 years, Seed Fund Scheme, cutting down of examination period for new trademark registrations etc., the Minister said that that the government, instead of creating impediments like in the past, was actively handholding our youngsters to think big and dream big.

Pointing out that National Startup Award winners had emerged from smaller cities such as Kochi, Lucknow, Sonipat, the Minister said that this was evidence that the Startup ecosystem was being democratised.

He asked upcoming entrepreneurs to scale up diversity in startups, explore new businesses, promote Agri-preneurs (Agri sector entrepreneurs), Tex-prenenurs (Textiles), Edu-preneurs (Education) and innovate in emerging tech such as Metaverse, Web 3, AI, 5G and areas such as cybersecurity.

He urged them to think of ways to use these technologies, individually or converged to create new opportunities. Opining that sustainability and circular economy are the need of the hour, the Minister said that  the challenge of sustainability in a way would create the next set of big business ideas in finding solutions to climate change, sustainable mobility, water management etc.

Quoting Elon Musk, Shri Goyal said that ‘It is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary”. He told the students that the future belonged to those who have the courage to pursue their dreams. Your innovations should reach not only every nook and corner of the country but across the world, he said.

He expressed confidence that the startups of today would be the leaders of tomorrow and asked young entrepreneurs to help this country attain higher levels of prosperity and meet the aspirations of a billion plus citizens who are still looking to be stakeholders in our progress and prosperity through deep innovation.