Framework for the ONDC to Ensure Rule Compliance by Participating Entities

At the time of onboarding, the ONDC will demand an assurance from each participant that they will adhere to the policy in its entirety.

A senior official stated on Thursday that the government-sponsored Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is developing a mechanism to make sure that entities engaged in online retail trading abide by its rules.

An open platform for all facets of e-commerce retail is what the ONDC seeks to promote. It would lessen the dominance of industry giants and assist small retailers in growing their businesses through the medium of online shopping.

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“We would take action if we noticed that any player was not abiding by our rules. We are currently wrapping up things. The law of the land must be observed. Sanjiv, a joint secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), told reporters that we are currently creating that mechanism.

The comprehensive ONDC network policy would include a set of guidelines for the protection of personal information and the establishment of grievance resolution processes.

One of the chapters of the policy on grievance management would outline mechanisms for the participants to manage and resolve grievances filed against them by buyers and sellers, according to a consultation paper published by ONDC last year.A set of standards is developed by the nonprofit organisation ONDC for voluntary adoption by merchants, logistics companies, and operators of payment gateways.

At the time of onboarding, the ONDC will demand an assurance from each participant that they will adhere to the policy in its entirety.

Additionally, Sanjiv stated that over the past few months, ONDC has accomplished significant milestones, including 37 network participants, including market leaders and up-and-coming Indian startups, over 26,000 merchants, and over 27 lakh products offered on the network.”Our goal for the ONDC participants is to cover all of the country’s pin codes, and hopefully we will succeed in doing so. The companies are approaching us to onboard now instead of us asking people to do so earlier, he said.

The network is currently live for the majority of major product categories, including groceries, food, and beauty products, with plans to expand to more product categories soon. Two cities — Bengaluru and Kochi (taxi services app Namma Yatri) — have enabled mobility services. (auto services).

Over 210 cities in India are now included in ONDC’s geographic coverage, and its logistics partners are able to ship goods to about 90% of the country’s pin codes.

According to T Koshy, CEO of ONDC, “we hope to maintain this momentum” as more and more merchants, consumer apps, logistics companies, and payment gateways join the network.

Participants in the group are making efforts to support and guide sellers as they join the network and educate customers on how to use ONDC.From 30 to 40 transactions per day earlier, there are currently about 600 transactions per day going through this network.

Koshy added that the network is gaining “good traction” and that major companies like HUL, P&G, Paytm, PhonePe, and ITC have joined.

Sanjiv stated, “We are inviting all big and small players,” noting that there are now about 50,000 merchants on the network, up 200 from before.

Over 100 merchants have joined the network in about 15 cities, including Kolkata, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

With assistance from the Small Industries Development Bank of India, ONDC has hired handloom weavers from Kancheepuram to sell their goods through ONDC throughout India. (SIDBI). In a similar vein, NABARD offers assistance to farmers producers’ organisations (FPOs) regarding how to use this network.