About Open Network Digital Commerce
- It is an open-source network set up to enable buyers and sellers to transact with each other irrespective of the e-commerce platform on which either of them are registered.
- It will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.
- It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Purpose
- To promote open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks.
- To create new opportunities, curb digital monopolies and by supporting micro, small and medium enterprises and small traders and help them get on online platforms.
- It seeks to democratise digital or electronic commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network.
- Benefits:
- It offers small retailers an opportunity to provide their services, and goods to buyers across the country through an e-commerce system.
- It enables merchants to save their data to build credit history and reach consumers.
- It is expected to digitise the entire value chain, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.
- ONDC protocols would standardize operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order management and order fulfilment.
Q1) What is a Fair Price Shop?
It means a shop which has been licensed to distribute essential commodities by an order issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to the ration card holders under the Targeted Public Distribution System;
Last updated on January, 2026
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