Government To Sell Subsidised Tomatoes On ONDC

In what is likely to provide a further push to the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) are reportedly in talks to sell subsidised tomatoes on the platform in Delhi NCR.

Online sale of tomatoes on the ONDC platform is in testing mode currently, news agency ANI reported. The government will announce the sale of tomatoes on ONDC at a subsidised rate of INR 70 per kg soon if all goes well, the report said citing a source.

The sale of tomatoes on ONDC is likely to begin from Delhi NCR, before being expanded to other cities.

The development comes at a time when the prices of tomatoes have shot up to as much as INR 160 per kg in some parts of the country. In order to provide relief to the general population, the government asked agricultural marketing agencies NCCF and NAFED to sell tomatoes at a subsidised price of INR 90 per kg. This price was subsequently decreased to INR 70 per kg. 

It must be noted that quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are selling tomatoes for as much as INR 170 per kg.

The Rise Of ONDC

The latest development signifies the rising importance of ONDC. While tomatoes were being sold at subsidised rates in the retail market, the move is an attempt to reach online shoppers and, in the process, provide further push to ONDC.

The ONDC platform is backed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and was launched last year. It is an open network which aims to democratise the ecommerce sector and enable participation of small businesses. 

The network has been gradually expanding its presence across cities and different sectors since its launch last year. Earlier this month, ONDC said it went Beta live in five more cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Chennai. It also surpassed the 35,000 daily order milestone this month.

Besides, after entering and disrupting multiple sectors like food delivery to grocery delivery, the platform now aims to enter the fintech space.

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