Want All E-Commerce Firms To Join ONDC, Don't Come With New App: Piyush Goyal

This comes weeks after Walmart-owned PhonePe launched a hyperlocal commerce app called Pincode on ONDC

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the government wants the main platform of e-commerce companies to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), rather than build a new app to join the network. He said that he is optimistic about a significant growth of ONDC in the next few months. He invited all e-commerce companies, big and small, to join ONDC and be part of this new bazaar that reimagines digital commerce.

"I would tell Koshy (ONDC chief) to exclude those e-commerce platforms which are not coming to the network with their main platforms. Some are building ONDC-specific platforms. That's not our aim," said Goyal, while adding, "If you do that, while you are taking the benefit of ONDC by availing of the sellers, but you are not giving your consumer base the benefit of choice of buying from any of the sellers." This comes weeks after Walmart-owned PhonePe launched a hyperlocal commerce app called Pincode on ONDC.

Goyal said ONDC will promote local languages, products, and cultural heritage, and create opportunities for small businesses. Small artisans and workers can offer better quality through ONDC and also earn better without having to pay commission for their products and ONDC will also foster healthy competition, benefit consumers and contribute to the overall growth of the digital commerce ecosystem in India, he pointed out.

The minister highlighted the various sectors that may benefit from ONDC like farmers who can access bigger markets and demand better prices for their products, students who can compare prices of books and online courses, people who can avail health services at the best prices, etc.

He emphasized on the need to create systems that benefit everyone and create opportunities for all. He said that the efforts are being undertaken to ensure that e-commerce becomes an engine of growth that empowers both buyers and sellers.

“We were grappling with the problems arising out of big tech in the e-commerce space, a threat to small retail across the country. It might not be tomorrow...one can say 3-4 per cent of retail-only e-commerce now, but we have a long-term vision. And this government is desirous of crystal gazing into the future to plan the destiny of 140 crore Indians," said Goyal.

The minister, however, said that ONDC will not work to the detriment of anybody and all retailers, big and small, are invited to join the network.

During his address, the minister said that ‘Enabling Bharat 2.0’ converges with the commitment of making India a developed nation by 2047 and it is desirable to plan for the future. He said that digital public infrastructure is the need of the hour. He said that all the efforts of the government have been citizen centric as was evident during the Covid pandemic with the development and production of vaccines and the launch of Co-WIN Vaccinator App to monitor the distribution of vaccines to everyone in the country.