On Friday, a trial of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an open technology network based on an open protocol, was launched in five states: Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong. Regardless of what other applications buyers and sellers use, the platform will allow them to connect and trade online. "After UPI, another game-changing idea to democratise commerce ONDC soft launch today to select consumers, sellers, and logistics providers," Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet on Friday.
Including a January action plan produced by this ONDC body, "a paradigm shift from an operator-driven monolithic platform-centric model to a facilitator-driven, interoperable decentralised network" is required. The ONDC will not be owned or managed by a single business or platform, and the goal is to use open-source specifications and protocols to connect buyers, suppliers, payment, and logistics companies. The platform's goal is to open up new opportunities, break down technological strongholds, and empower MSMEs and small merchants by assisting them in gaining access to internet platforms. It's a project of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
"We chose five cities because we wanted to maintain a regional balance across the board." We have a trader base in these five cities that is learning the subtleties of dealing on ONDC," DPIIT's additional secretary, Anil Agrawal, had stated.
What is ONDC?
It's an open technology network based on an open protocol that will allow any network-enabled application to explore and engage in local commerce across segments like mobility, shopping, food order and delivery, hotel booking, and travel. A transaction does not require the buyers and sellers to use the same platform or mobile app. They can work with a variety of apps while still conducting business.
According to the commerce ministry, the foundations of ONDC will be open protocols for all aspects of the entire chain of activities in the trade of goods, similar to HTTP for internet information exchange, a simple mail transfer protocol for email exchange, and unified payments interface for payments.
