Panel urges plan to help local vendors build ONDC-compatible technical tool

Says no clarity on ONDC network's liability in case a consumer is delivered substandard products; local businesses will also find it hard to compete with e-commerce giants

The Parliamentary standing committee on commerce has urged the industry department to develop a concrete strategy to help local businesses design a technical tool compatible with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) protocols, which will help in moving closer to the government’s goal of digital onboarding of these small businesses.

While the committee said in a report that the industry department’s initiative to launch ONDC is ‘ambitious and revolutionary’, it pointed out a few gaps that need to be fixed in order to make ONDC a success.

It pointed out that smooth onboarding of the existing digital commerce apps and platforms, compatibility and interoperability of the existing applications of the buyers and sellers are crucial towards a successful take off of ONDC. “However, the (ONDC’s) strategy paper is silent on these issues and does not lay out a road map/strategy for addressing these issues,” according to a report ‘Promotion and Regulation of E-Commerce in India’ presented in the Rajya Sabha.

There is no clarity on the liability of the ONDC network in case a consumer faced issues related to transactions and delivery of substandard products. Apart from that, local businesses will find it extremely challenging to compete with the discounts and sales offered by e-commerce behemoths. This may result in local businesses being squeezed out of the network in the long run.The committee has suggested the industry department to give clarity on these issues.

ONDC uses open specifications and open network protocols that are independent of any specific platform. It will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application. While a full fledged launch is awaited, a pilot is being conducted in five cities across the country since April-end.