Piyush Goyal Chaired Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

· Move to Democratise Digital Commerce & Move it from Platform-Centric Model to an Open-network Model

· Success Story of Platform Independent Protocols like UPI to be Replicated to Provide Alternatives to Propriety e-commerce Sites and Create Mechanisms to Connect Buyers and Sellers

· Merchants will be able to Save their Data under ONDC to Build Credit History and Reach Consumers

· Go Ahead for Rapid Development and Deployment of ONDC

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on 13 August, 2021 chaired a meeting for the review of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative of DPIIT. Mr. Goyal deliberated with the members of the advisory council& experts on how the initiative will democratise digital commerce & move it from platform-centric model to an open-network model. The advisory council includes Mr. R.S. Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority, Nandan M. Nilekani, non-executive Chairman of Infosys, Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, QCI and Capacity Building Commission, Ms Anjali Bansal, Founder & Chairperson, Avaana Capital, Mr. Arvind Gupta, Co-founder & Head, Digital India Foundation, DilipAsbe, MD & CEO, NPCI, Mr. Suresh Sethi, MD & CEO, NSDL, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General, Confederation of All India Traders and Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailer Association of India.

While reviewing the progress, the Minister said that ONDC will work for everything and not just limited to products but also services. Mr. Goyal suggested that some guidelines or basic infrastructure, size, ethics and principles should be there. Mr. Goyal further added that security and data privacy and confidentiality must be ensured. He said that this will create new opportunities and remove monopolistic environments.

It may be noted, Open Network for Digital Commerce christened ONDC is globally first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to democratise Digital Commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network. As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India. ONDC will enable, buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network. No matter what platform/application they use. ONDC will empower merchants and consumers by breaking silos to form a single network to drive innovation and scale, transforming all businesses from retail goods, food to mobility

Advisory Council was constituted on July 5 and its first meeting was convened on July 16, 2021.The Advisory Council adopted its role to guide and mentor design, implementation and national rollout of ONDC in addition to the scope of the erstwhile Steering Committee. The Advisory Council discussed the key design elements national rollout. Its recommendations have been incorporated in the implementation plan developed.

· ONDC shall take all measures to ensure confidentiality & privacy of data in the network

- ONDC shall not mandate sharing of any transaction-level data by participants with ONDC.

- ONDC will work with its participants to publish anonymised aggregate metrics on network performance without compromising on confidentiality and privacy

- ONDC will be compliant with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and designed for compliance with the emerging Personal Data Protection Bill.

In addition to establishing ONDC to manage the Open Network the Government may consider establishing an Independent Regulatory Authority for eCommerce (such as SEBI for Capital Market).

ONDC shall initially give special attention help onboard small and medium players. ONDC to plan for a well-developed Information, Education & Communication campaign to educate, encourage and to address any apprehensions of various network participants. ONDC should evolve over time as a self-sustaining entity generating income for its operations and surplus for continuous investment in technology, processes and network development. This is very workable option considering the significant benefits it will extend to the ecosystem players