Let’s know what is ONDC

The ONDC platform will allow buyers and sellers

to connect and transact with each other online, no
matter what other application they use. Here’s all
about the e-commerce network that is trying to end
the dominance of US based companies Amazon.com
and Walmart
ONDC is incorporated as a private non-profit (Section-8) company to establish the public
digital infrastructure needed to expand access to India’s e-commerce ecosystem – pegged as a
US$200 billion opportunity by 2027.
• Govt claims that ‘as UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in
India.’ The initiative is aimed to democratise digital commerce and move it from platform-
centric model to an open-network model. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush
Goyal says that ONDC will work both for products and services.
 How will ONDC work
1. 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.
2. According to Commerce Ministry 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.
3. These open protocols would be used for establishing public digital
infrastructure in the form of open registries and open network gateways to
enable the exchange of information between providers and consumers
4. Providers and consumers would be able to use any compatible application of
their choice for the exchange of information and carrying out transactions over
ONDC
1. Search and discovery
2. Placeing an order

3. On-network logistics on ONDC network

What are the potential benefits of ONDC?
For sellers:
Access to more buyers
Better discoverability of products and cost
Autonomy on terms because of multiple choices for being digitally visible
Lower cost of doing business
• More options for value chain services like logistics and fulfilment
For buyers:
Access to more sellers and therefore more choices
Better service and faster deliveries due to access to hyper-local retailers
• Better customer experience
 What is ONDC not?
A government regulatory body
A super aggregator application or a platform
A central intermediary
• A medium to help digitise business

ONDC categories and vision:

• Operations are presently focused on retail and restaurants and facilitating real-time
transactions, the open network will extend to other categories like travel and mobility.
• Based on the pilot exercise and after the network stabilizes, ONDC will be expanded to
100 cities and towns across India by October 2022. The goal is to accommodate 30
million sellers and 10 million merchants online.