Some state govt portals to start integration with ONDC soon

Some state governments are looking to integrate their portals and also get micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in their states on to the Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC), which is set to roll out by August.

The Kerala government is expected to begin on-boarding its consumer-facing portals with the network this month, according to a source in the know.

Along with Kerala state portals, local start-ups are working on solutions to bring industries on to the ONDC platform. This will especially facilitate MSMEs in the state.

At Vyapar 2022, the state’s business-to-business (B2B) event for MSMEs, there will be a presentation on what the open network will offer. Other states that are in talks to integrate their portals include Delhi, Uttar

Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Maharashtra, the source said.

“We will be talking to MSMEs at Vyapar 2022 and will also work with around 20 local portals to help them integrate their platforms with ONDC,” T Koshy, chief executive officer (CEO) of ONDC told Business Standard.

He added, “We will help these companies sell their products through the sellers’ network on ONDC.”

The network is currently running its pilot in five cities, which include New Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong and Coimbatore.

ONDC is also in talks with various e-commerce platforms and websites to integrate with the network. It has also received funds for the first stage of the project from 17 banks and financial institutions amounting to Rs 157.5 crore.

The project is sponsored by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and has been set up as a Section 8 company (non-profit organisation).

ONDC intends to increase the gross merchandise value (GMV) of digital transactions from Rs 4.5 trillion annually to over Rs 7.5 trillion in the next five years.  It also intends to expand the coverage of retailers using digital commerce from 15,000 to more than 2 million in five years. It wants to expand the share of Indians using e-commerce from 90 million to more than 250 million users.

The network aims to provide more access to businesses by increasing discoverability at a low cost.

Also, it will enhance autonomy (due to multiple choices for being digitally visible) as well as value-chain services (like logistics) to support business growth.

For buyers, ONDC’s protocol will provide access to more sellers, enhanced service levels and faster deliveries due to access to hyper-local retailers. For technology platforms, ONDC will provide lower time-to-market and time-to-scale.