ONDC, an indigenous government e-commerce platform launched in Bengaluru

The beta trial of the indigenous government e-commerce platform Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) started in Bengaluru today. At present it has been started with more than 200 retail kirana stores and restaurants in the city.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that this pilot program has been started in 16 pincode areas of Bengaluru. The beta testing of ONDC in Bengaluru is an important step. ONDC will democratize the e-commerce ecosystem, as all buyers and shopkeepers will be able to do business freely.

ONDC aims to end the monopoly of multinational companies on e-commerce business in the country, which currently have more than 50 per cent stake in the e-commerce market. In this, the government wants to connect the small shopkeepers to the buyers, so that they too can get the benefit of the growing e-commerce market.

More than 20 companies including private and government of the country are investing a total of Rs 255 crore in ONDC. This includes the names of State Bank of India, UCO Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda. Earlier this year in April this year, the alpha version of ONDC was tested in Bengaluru with limited users, which has been extended to 80 cities by September 2022. The government wants to develop ONDC on the lines of UPI, so that there is no monopoly of any company on the e-commerce market.