The Indian government is inviting e-commerce firms to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to propel digital consumption, but with a caveat: it wants the main platforms of e-commerce companies to join instead of building an ONDC-specific app.
The Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, has said that companies building separate apps to join the ONDC are not giving consumers the benefits of choice for buying from any of the sellers.
Goyal has urged ONDC chief Koshy to exclude e-commerce platforms that are not coming to the network with their main platforms. He reportedly said that the companies which will not join ONDC will be left behind, and that ONDC does not threaten big commerce companies, but rather opens doors of opportunities.
The statement comes on the heels of fintech giant PhonePe launching Pincode, a consumer-centric shopping app that is built on the ONDC platform. The app will focus on hyperlocal commerce and is currently only available in Bengaluru city, but will soon be launched in other cities.
Consulting firm McKinsey has said in a report that ONDC has the potential to increase India’s digital consumption by five times to around $340 billion by 2030. The network will also help increase the number of digital transacting consumers by three to four times from 165-190 million to 450-500 million users during the same period.
Since its launch last year, companies across sectors have joined the ONDC bandwagon. Google-backed proptech unicorn NoBroker is likely to soon join the network, and Axis Bank is reportedly planning to launch a consumer-facing e-commerce platform on the network.
Amazon has also announced that it would integrate its SmartCommerce services and logistics network with the ONDC. The network has onboarded various logistics players such as Shiprocket, Delhivery, Shadowfax, Loadshare, and Reliance-backed Grab.
Overall, the Indian government is pushing for e-commerce firms to join the ONDC to help increase digital consumption in the country, but it wants them to do so through their main platforms rather than ONDC-specific apps. As the network continues to grow, it is likely that more companies will join in the future.
