SUMMARY
ONDC would help in further expanding the frontiers of ODOP by bringing buyers and sellers together on a democratic platform: Piyush Goyal
Need to ensure that flagship initiatives such as Startup India and Make in India converge with ODOP vision: Commerce Minister Goyal
ONDC, an open protocol-based digital commerce platform, will help create a level playing field for sellers, and enable access to a gamut of services for buyers
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday (August 29) called for integration of the government’s ambitious ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) programme with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
“ONDC would help in further expanding the frontiers of ODOP by bringing buyers and sellers together on a democratic platform,” Goyal said.
Goyal made the comments while addressing an event to unveil the ODOP storefront on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) in New Delhi.
Calling convergence a key factor, Goyal directed different arms of the government to ensure that flagship initiatives such as Startup India and Make in India converge with the vision of the ODOP. He also urged all ministries to help further expand the mandate of ODOP through various complementary initiatives.
The event saw several secretaries in the union government, senior state and union territory (UT) government officials, industry bodies, among others in attendance.
This follows the government’s concerted effort towards a full-fledged launch of the ONDC platform. ONDC aims to usher in a new era of ecommerce as it looks to onboard more than 30 Mn sellers and 10 Mn vendors by the end of 2022.
ONDC is an open protocol-based digital commerce platform that will help create a level playing field for sellers, enabling buyers access to a gamut of services.
Goyal had earlier said that the ONDC has the power to spawn thousands of startups and democratise ecommerce in the country.
The ecosystem aims to generate 3 Bn orders a month, sign up 900 Mn digital buyers and reach a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $48 Bn over the next five years. The service will likely be available across 100 towns and cities in the country by early September 2022.
The platform has so far onboarded big names such as fintech major Paytm, insurtech player Digit, digital payments giant PhonePe, among others. Even as this pans out, other big names including Kotak, PhonePe, Shiprocket, Snapdeal, Zoho and Ekart are in advanced stages of joining the platform.
According to a report by Inc42, India’s total addressable ecommerce market opportunity is projected to reach around $200 Bn by 2026.
