The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, has opened its network to consumers and sellers in Meerut city from December 22.
ONDC said Meerut has been strategically selected for beta testing as it shows great promise through its strong seller density. “The launch of ONDC in Meerut will provide insightful learning to understand the network adaptation in tier-2 cities and to drive further inclusivity of regional sellers on the network,” the ONDC statement added..
In the beta launch, four live buyer applications of IDFC First Bank, Mystore, Paytm and Spice Money were included to allow consumers to transact on ONDC platform.
In September 2022, the ONDC network went live to public users in Bengaluru in grocery and F&B categories with five buyer applications, 12 seller applications and two logistics providers, as part of the beta testing phase. With the launch, Meerut has become the first tier-2 city in the country to commence beta testing of the e-commerce initiative.
“Starting from Bengaluru, we’re excited to expand ONDC Beta to Meerut, given the existing number of sellers already adopting ONDC here,” said T Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC. “We hope that with the Beta rollout, more sellers and local businesses will join ONDC in Meerut, and will pave the way for bringing the vision of Vocal4Local to reality in UP and across India.”
ONDC had its Alpha Rollout on April 29, 2022, in five cities in its network to test live transactions with a closed group of sellers and buyers and marked its footprint in 85 cities across India.
The government aims to democratise the ecommerce sector in the country through ONDC. Besides, it is also looking to improve inclusion and e-commerce penetration in the country through the network. Digit, Dunzo, Delhivery, ITC Store are among the names that are currently live on the platform.
