New Delhi, Dec 16 (NationPress) Over 1.16 lakh retail sellers have successfully joined the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), spanning more than 630 cities and towns across the nation as of December 9, according to a government announcement made on Tuesday.

ONDC significantly lowers entry barriers for small and micro enterprises by facilitating interoperability among various buyer and seller applications, thus fostering increased competition within the digital commerce sector.

“The availability of numerous platforms providing identical products and services leads to enhanced price transparency for consumers. Furthermore, as sellers of varying sizes and from different geographical areas become accessible on the network, consumers can enjoy a broader range of products and services, allowing for more informed and competitive choices,” stated Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, during a Lok Sabha session.

Unlike conventional e-commerce platforms that function in isolation, ONDC establishes an open ecosystem where sellers can connect with customers on multiple platforms without being bound by platform-specific terms and conditions.

The minister emphasized that ONDC plays a crucial role in ensuring that small businesses, local traders, and MSMEs are not digitally marginalized in the evolving e-commerce landscape. It provides a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory discovery process through open protocols, ensuring that all sellers are equally visible across the network, regardless of their size, scale, or digital capability.

Seller-side applications make their complete catalogs visible to all buyer-side applications, while buyer-side applications reveal key parameters utilized for sorting or listing search results, enabling sellers to understand and enhance their rankings. Universal open specifications adopted by all network participants further bolster transparency and prevent biased listing practices.

Additionally, the Ministry of MSME’s Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) initiative promotes the digital commerce adoption among SMEs, small sellers, including Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), artisans, rural entrepreneurs, and local retailers via ONDC.

Under this initiative, these small sellers receive assistance in digital literacy, awareness, cataloging, and onboarding, with an emphasis on inclusivity targeting 50% of beneficiaries as women-led SMEs, according to the minister.