NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will give an opportunity to small retailers to compete with big firms and its beta version is likely to be launched in few months.
As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India.
It will enable buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network, no matter what platform/ application they use.
Goyal said that over the past few years, large companies have almost taken a complete stronghold on e-commerce business and small retailers do not get equal opportunity to be able to engage with e-commerce due to weak financials and strong financial muscle of large firms.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, he said there are start-ups and small shops that are an important part of the ecosystem that provides retail shopping.
"We are in the process of the governance structure of ONDC.
We have taken technocrats to help us to create the technology and in another few months, we will be able to do a beta launch and this system will give opportunity for small retailers to stand up in competition against big companies," Goyal said.
He added that the platform will provide opportunities for new start-ups to start creating a network of sellers, provide service to local areas, and increase competition.
Like "you can Google any information and get a series of options, the same way it (ONDC) will be easy for somebody who wants to procure any product to get a lot of options", he added.
ONDC received its certificate of incorporation as a private sector non-profit company on December 31, 2021.
A number of established companies have integrated with the platform and the government has already set up a nine-member advisory council, including Nandan Nilekani from Infosys and National Health Authority CEO R S Sharma, on steps required to design and accelerate the adoption of ONDC.