New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has transformed India’s e-commerce landscape over the past four years by making digital trade more open, inclusive, and accessible to all.

Marking four years of Open Network for Digital Commerce, Goyal said the initiative has helped democratise e-commerce across products and services by encouraging open participation and fostering innovation and collaboration.

In a post on social media platform X, he said ONDC has played a key role in bringing small shopkeepers into the digital marketplace and widening access for both consumers and sellers, thereby strengthening trust across the ecosystem.

“Over the past four years, ONDC has democratised e-commerce across products & services by enabling open participation and fostering innovation & collaboration,” Goyal stated.

“By bringing small shopkeepers into the digital marketplace and widening access for all, it has strengthened trust, benefiting both consumers & sellers,” he added.

The minister’s remarks come as the government continues to push ONDC as an alternative to closed e-commerce platforms.

Unlike traditional marketplaces that operate in silos, ONDC allows sellers to reach customers through multiple buyer apps without being tied to a single platform or restrictive terms and conditions.

As per government data shared earlier in Parliament, more than 1.16 lakh retail sellers are currently live on ONDC from over 630 cities and towns across the country.

The network lowers entry barriers for small and micro businesses by enabling interoperability between different buyer and seller applications, which in turn increases competition in digital commerce.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada had earlier told the Lok Sabha that the presence of multiple platforms offering the same products and services on ONDC improves price transparency for consumers.

He said buyers also benefit from a wider range of products and services as sellers from different regions and of varying sizes become accessible on a single open network.

–IANS

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