Government looks to Amazon, Flipkart to boost ONDC

The central government has approached e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon India to discuss their potential participation in its Open Network for Digital Commerce in order to expand its online operations.

The discussions include the plan to have ONDC storefronts set up on the homepages of both Flipkart and Amazon India to enable the platforms’ millions of shoppers to discover ONDC. The managing director of ONDC T Koshy told the Economic Times that the organisation is, “in active discussion with Amazon and Flipkart for a phased participation and that results could be expected soon.”
 
By working with Amazon and Flipkart, ONDC also plans to address current logistics delays and performance issues, ET Bureau reported. Flipkart’s logistics segment has already joined the ONDC network and both Amazon and Flipkart had announced their plans to work with ONDC, although this may not include integrating their core marketplaces.
 
ONDC first went live in January 2023. The online network is part of the government’s plan to democratise e-commerce by enabling shoppers to search for products across both large and small businesses with equal ease and visibility. ONDC currently features product categories including fashion, health and wellness, homeware, beauty and personal care, and agricultural products among others and will continue to expand the goods available on its network.