ONDC Facilitates Over 150 Million Transactions Across 1,110 Cities Since Launch

New Delhi, Jan 3 (KNN) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commended the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for its role in transforming India's e-commerce landscape and empowering small businesses. 

His praise came in response to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's social media post highlighting the platform's achievements, including its extensive network of over 200 participants and 700,000 sellers operating across 600 cities.

The platform, launched in 2021 to democratise the e-commerce ecosystem, has facilitated more than 150 million transactions from consumers across 1,110 cities and towns. 

ONDC CEO Thampy Koshy projects ambitious growth, targeting 30-40 million monthly transactions by March 2025, up from the current 14.4 million monthly transactions recorded in November 2024.

The network has attracted diverse participants, including prominent unicorns such as Zerodha, EaseMyTrip, Cars24, Physics Wallah, PolicyBazaar, and others who have signed letters of intent for partnership. 

In a notable development, Ola Consumer recently initiated a pilot program for quick food delivery services in Bengaluru through the platform.

However, the platform's performance has shown mixed results for some participants. True Elements, a healthy breakfast and snack brand that joined ONDC in January 2023, reported a significant decline in its run rate across categories in 2024 compared to the previous year. The company's Co-founder and CEO Puru Gupta noted that their sales on ONDC are substantially lower than on other platforms.

Janhavi Jaltare, True Elements' direct-to-consumer head, highlighted both opportunities and challenges within the ONDC ecosystem. 

While the platform offers brands access to a mass audience at lower costs compared to traditional marketplaces, she pointed out that limited consumer awareness about ONDC's presence remains a significant hurdle to wider adoption.

(KNN Bureau)