Ride-hailing startup Ola is planning on joining the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said at the India Internet Day event held on August 24. Aggarwal did not share any details on the timeline or in what capacity Ola wants to join the e-commerce network. We emailed Ola for confirmation and more details on its plan on August 24, and will update this post once we get a response. ONDC's architecture is such that it can support a variety of e-commerce categories such as food and beverages, grocery, electronics, fashion, home and kitchen products, beauty and personal care, and mobility. Currently, Namma Yatri is the only player in the mobility sector on ONDC, offering ride-hailing services in Bangalore. It has enjoyed considerable success since its launch thanks to a zero commission model, which is set to change from September 1. Ola could join either in the mobility sector or as a logistics provider for providing hyperlocal deliveries. How will you be able to book rides on ONDC: ONDC is not a platform in itself. As a consumer, you will have access to buyer apps that are on ONDC, and you can use these buyer apps to shop or book rides. But as of now, buyer apps like Paytm, Phonepe, MyStore, and Spice Money don't yet support booking rides on ONDC, so we will have to wait and see how users can book rides. Paytm is expected to support ride-hailing services soon, but, in the future, any of…
