India unveils indigenous One Network for Digital Commerce |
India on April 29 launched its own Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The Indian government objective is to end the dominance of US companies in the fast-growing e-commerce market. The launch of the platform comes after India`s antitrust body on April 28 raided domestic sellers of Amazon and some of Walmart`s Flipkart following accusations of competition law violations. Indian retailers have long contended that Amazon and Flipkart`s platforms benefit a few big sellers, via predatory pricing, though the companies say they comply with all Indian laws. The government`s so-called ONDC platform will allow buyers and sellers to connect and transact with each other online, no matter what other application they use. It was soft-launched on April 29 to be expanded later. A government document said that 2 large multinational players controlled more than half of the country`s e-commerce trade, limiting access to the market, giving preferential treatment to some sellers and squeezing supplier margins. It did not name the companies though. The document said India`s ONDC plan aimed to onboard 30 million sellers and 10 million merchants online. The plan is to cover at least 100 cities and towns by August this year. It would focus on apps in local languages for both buyers and sellers, with a special emphasis on small merchants and rural consumers, the document said about the project. The government said it had already received support from retailers and venture capital firms. Lenders such as the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Bank of Baroda have already committed total investments of 46.2 million Singapore dollars into ONDC.
|
|
|
|
|
