ONDC to have all metro services on board soon: Thampy Koshy

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is planning to add almost all the metro services into its network in the upcoming year, MD and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thampy Koshy told Storyboard18 exclusively at the fifth edition of The/Nudge Institute's flagship livelihoods summit charcha ‘24.

India has a 905-kilometer-long operational metro network in over 20 cities, of which Kochi and Chennai Metro have partnered with ONDC, offering ticketing services via platforms like Namma Yatri, Rapido, redBus. Koshy said, "We are talking to every metro to become ONDC participants. Some of the talks are in advanced stage", and added, "By the end of coming year all metros are likely to be part of ONDC".

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When asked about verifying sellers on the ONDC network, Koshy explained that they only conduct due diligence on network participants, not individual sellers. He emphasized that network participants are responsible for verifying sellers on their platforms. Koshy stressed that if a network participant fails to properly verify sellers, ONDC will take action, including potentially removing them from the network.

According to Koshy, ONDC clocked 12 million orders in July. However, the transaction of the government-backed network may surge to 13.5 million in August.

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The ONDC, launched in December 2021, is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). At The/Nudge event, Koshy said, "Our ultimate aim is every product service which is digitising, and cataloguing should be available on this network".

ONDC facilitates exchange of goods and services digitally, increasing revenues for the sellers, and multiplying options for the buyers. Buyers and sellers transact irrespective of the application they use. ONDC has more than 6,40,000 sellers of which more than 70 per cent are small or medium-sized sellers. As of July 31, Karnataka, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are the top-3 states and union territory with 'highest confirmed orders'.

The network has more than 100 startups, unicorns such as Policybazaar, Zerodha, EaseMyTrip, and small businesses that have expressed commitment to onboard the network.