What's the news: A meeting of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) Advisory Council was held on June 23, chaired by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, to review the progress of the project. In the meeting, it was revealed that seven companies have adopted ONDC protocols and built apps compatible with the network. Furthermore, these apps have been used by customers to complete grocery and food transactions in the pilot phase being conducted in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong and Coimbatore since April 29, a press release from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said. What's ONDC: ONDC is a project supported by the Indian government to promote an open UPI-like architecture for the e-commerce industry. To give you a better idea: What if there’s a shopping app that shows you products not just from sellers on the app itself but also from sellers on other platforms like Amazon, Meesho, and even your local Kirana store. And as a seller, what if there’s an app that allows you to list your products on multiple platforms and also choose logistics and payment services independent of these platforms. Now, imagine many such apps and platforms not just for retail, but mobility, food delivery, hotel booking, and ticketing, and you will have a fair idea of what the ONDC is supposed to do. Why does this matter: The government believes that e-commerce in India is dominated by a few foreign-funded players (read: Amazon and Flipkart) to the detriment of sellers, and it wants ONDC to break this stranglehold. But for…
