E-commerce companies on ONDC may pay the price for non-compliance

The government will develop a mechanism to ensure that e-commerce companies and entities that have adopted Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) architecture are compliant with the rules. Non-compliance may result in a penalty. 

“We will have our own evaluation system, and if we find any player is not sticking to it, then we will take action. Participants will have to be compliant with the rule of the land,” Sanjiv, joint secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), told reporters on Thursday.

“We are in the process of finalising things,” he said.

Unlike a centralised digital platform, the ONDC is a public decentralised digital network being built with support and participation from a wide range of stakeholders, from small retailers and innovative start-ups to leading Indian businesses. It is a not-for-profit company, and formulates a set of standards for voluntary adoption by sellers or logistics providers or payments gateway operators.

Over the past few months, over 26,000 merchants, and over 2.7 million products are being offered on the network. “Our dream is to cover all the pin codes of the country by the participants of the ONDC and hopefully we will be achieving that. Earlier, we were requesting people to onboard the network and now the companies are approaching us to onboard,” Sanjiv said.

Product categories, such as grocery, food, and beauty products, are live on the network, and more product categories are underway. Mobility services have been enabled in two cities — Kochi and Bengaluru — but they don’t include major players such as Ola and Uber.

The ONDC’s geographic coverage has expanded to over 210 cities across India, and its logistics partners can deliver products to about 90 per cent of the pin codes across India.

Currently, a beta launch is going on in two cities —Bengaluru and Meerut.

ONDC Chief Executive Officer T Koshy said about 600 transactions per day were happening through this network currently, up from 30-40 transactions in the past. Big players, such as HUL, P&G, Paytm, PhonePe, and ITC, and the network are getting good traction.

The ONDC goes beyond the current platform-centric models where a buyer and seller will have to use the same application. It aims to reduce the cost of doing business, benefit small, traditional retailers, while curbing digital monopolies. 

GOING PLACES

• Over 26,000 merchants and over 2.7 mn products offered on ONDC
• Grocery, food, and beauty products are live and more products are underway
• Coverage has expanded to over 210 cities
• Products can now be delivered to 90% of the pin codes
• 600 transactions per day are happening currently