Open Network for Digital Commerce: In News
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently enabled online ticket booking for “over 170 centrally protected monuments and museums” on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), seeking to expand digital access.
- It is a transformative initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, aimed at democratizing digital commerce.
- It aims at promoting open networks for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks.
- It represents a step toward digital commerce democratization, shifting it from a platform-centric model—where a few e-commerce giants dominate the market—to an open, interoperable platform where buyers and sellers can interact regardless of the platforms they’re using.
- It is based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific e-commerce platform.
- It envisions creating a level playing field for sellers, buyers, and service providers across India, particularly small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Key objectives:- Break the dominance of large e-commerce platforms by enabling interoperability across networks.
- Empower small businesses, retailers, and local artisans to access the digital marketplace.
- Lower the cost of customer acquisition and transaction processing for sellers.
- Bridge regional and linguistic gaps, bringing untapped markets into the fold of digital commerce.
- Increase options for buyers by providing access to a broader array of sellers.
- It offers small retailers an opportunity to provide their services, and goods to buyers across the country through an e-commerce system.
- It enables merchants to save their data to build credit history and reach consumers.
- It is expected to digitise the entire value chain, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics, and enhance value for consumers.
- ONDC protocols would standardize operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order management, and order fulfilment.
