The steep discounts you see currently on ONDC are only to get the network kick-started and participants will have to rely on their own merits in the long run, ONDC CEO T Koshy told MoneyControl on May 9. ONDC participants include buyer apps, seller apps, sellers, and logistics providers. "Participants do agree with our philosophy that we should nurture a sustainable network building on cost economics resulting from specialization and innovation and driven by competition and fair practices, and not based on unhealthy price discounting building walled gardens,” Koshy told the new outlet. Koshy's comments come at a time when the hype around ONDC is at its height, thanks to huge discounts available on the platform. Over the last few days, many consumers have taken to Twitter to compare prices between ONDC and other apps like Swiggy and Zomato, with ONDC showing half the price in many cases. This also naturally led to the question of how ONDC is able to offer products for so cheap, and if it's because of discounts, how long is it going to last, and what makes the platform any different from incumbents like Swiggy and Zomato, who have both amassed their market share by offering discounts over the years. As we covered in detail yesterday, discounts are being offered by ONDC network participants thanks to the network's various incentive schemes, such as Rs 50 off per order and Rs 75 subsidy to cover delivery costs. These incentive schemes are not expected to last forever…
