Open Network for Digital Commerce

Also called: ONDC · Topic: Payment Systems and Digital Finance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a government-backed open network for online buying and selling, launched in 2022. It is not a shopping app or website. It is a shared set of common rules that lets different apps connect to each other. A buyer using one app can find and buy from a seller listed on a completely different app. It is part of India's digital public infrastructure (DPI), which means open, shared digital systems built as public goods, with private companies building competing apps on top. The aim is to help small sellers reach online buyers without depending on one big platform.

Example

A handloom weaver in Odisha lists her sarees through a small seller app on ONDC. A buyer in Pune searches on a different buyer app and finds those sarees, because both apps follow the same ONDC rules. The weaver did not have to join a large e-commerce marketplace to reach that customer.

Don't confuse with

• E-commerce marketplace (such as a single shopping platform): one company owns the app and controls both buyers and sellers. ONDC is a network that links many separate apps, and no single app owns it.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM): a portal where government departments buy goods and services. ONDC is for ordinary buyers and sellers trading with each other.

Read more

• Payment Systems and Digital Finance