5 lakh merchants have joined ONDC so far, according to DPIIT Secy

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), said that the ONDC's main goal was to democratize and increase smaller firms' access to digital commerce.

Five lakh vendors have been added to the government-backed ONDC (open network for digital commerce) platform as of Friday, according to a senior official. The program has begun to gain pace in the e-commerce industry.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), stated that the ONDC's main goal was to democratize and increase smaller players' access to digital commerce.

"During the last two years, it has begun to gain traction. Seventy percent of the five lakh vendors who have joined are small and medium-sized businesses. 7.22 million transactions were made possible by ONDC in April, Singh informed reporters in this location.

Promoting an open platform for all facets of retail e-commerce is the ONDC's goal. In addition to assisting small shops in growing their businesses via e-commerce, it would lessen the power of industry giants.

It is a non-profit organization that has developed a set of guidelines for vendors, shipping companies, and operators of payment gateways to voluntarily embrace.

Following the department's "ONDC Startup Mahotsav," he was speaking to the media.

According to Singh, the goal of this partnership is to guarantee that entrepreneurs may use the network to get access to the market.

"The idea is to get the wider choice and value to the consumers in addition to access to all kind of sellers as opposed to only the big ones," he said.

When asked whether large startups will eclipse smaller competitors, the secretary expressed confidence that the e-commerce industry could gain momentum for a wider range of businesses.

"The intent is noble, let us see how it works and to what degree we can actually crack a number of the issues you raised in terms of market focused," he said.

At the event, more than 125 ecosystem players signed Letters of Intent (LoIs), including startups, unicorns, and high growth companies including EaseMyTrip, OfBusiness, Winzo, Livspace, GlobalBees, Pristyn Care, Cars24, Physics Wallah, PolicyBazaar, and Zerodha.

These LoIs demonstrate both the potential of ONDC and the enthusiasm of the nation's top companies to work with the platform.

Startups may be key players in the ONDC ecosystem by promoting competition, accelerating innovation, and expanding customer choice, according to DPIIT Joint Secretary Sanjiv.

"More than 125 startups have committed to onboard to ONDC network in the occasion this afternoon reflects the excitement and intensity of the national initiative," Sanjiv said.

With the completion of the digital infrastructure and its widespread availability to enterprises and the general public, the ONDC is now fully functioning across India. It creates a fair playing field for all e-commerce operators, particularly small-scale firms and those who have been digitally excluded, and reduces entrance hurdles to the industry. PTI RR TRB