The biggest beneficiaries of an open network for ecommerce are small entrepreneurs. Platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart and Jio have indeed done their bit in giving thousands of small entrepreneurs a route to market, but there are still lots who are struggling.  “The Government promotes local farm produce and crafts, but they are not strong at marketing their products. Now these local businesses can connect to ONDC and suddenly there is a platform for them to market.”

ONDC had its alpha rollout in April this year across five cities to test live transactions with a closed group of sellers and buyers and marked its footprint in 85 cities across India. As part of the beta testing phase, the network went live to public users in Bengaluru in grocery and F&B categories with five buyer applications (PayTM, IDFC, Mystore, Spice Money, Craftsvilla), 12 Seller applications (GoFrugal, Growth Falcon, eSamudaay, Digiit, Ushop, Sellerapp, Bizom, uEngage, Innobits, eVitalRx, Mystore, nStore) and two logistics providers (Loadshare, Dunzo).  

Joshi claims that since September, multiple other buyers, sellers and logistics applications have gone live (ITC, EkSecond Technologies, Meesho, Uengage, Grab, Delhivery, Shiprocket). Four social sector enterprises (Tamul, Creyo, Shwet, & Anubhuti) have also gone live with the support of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank Of India). The platform is also being tested in Meerut.

Will ONDC really make a difference to the way India does business? It does seem like a promising proposition, but only time will say whether it is actually effective.