Lok Sabha Question No. 2721 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Role of ONDC
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Shri Praveen Khandelwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2721. TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 16 TH  DECEMBER, 2025.

## ROLE OF ONDC

## 2721.  SHRI PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether the Government has examined the role of Open Network for Digital Commerce  (ONDC)  in  integrating small urban merchants and service providers, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of vendors onboarded from metropolitan business districts; and
- (c) the expected impact on competition, price transparency and consumer choice?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री णिणिन प्रसाद ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

- (a): Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), unlike traditional e- commerce platforms that operate in silos, creates an open ecosystem where sellers can reach customers across multiple platforms without being restricted by platformspecific terms and conditions. ONDC plays a big part in ensuring that small businesses, local traders and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in the emerging e-commerce environments by providing a fair, transparent, and nondiscriminatory  discovery  within  emerging  e-commerce  environments  through open protocols that make all sellers equally visible across network regardless of size, scale  or  digital  sophistication.  Seller-side  apps  make  their  full catalogues discoverable to all buyer-side apps, while buyer-side apps discloses key parameters used for sorting or listing search results, enabling sellers to understand and improve their ranking. Common open specifications adopted by all network participants further enhance transparency and prevent opaque or biased listing practices.

Further, Ministry of MSME's Trade Enablement and  Marketing (TEAM) scheme promote adoption of digital commerce by SMEs, small sellers including Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs), artisans, rural entrepreneurs and local retailers through the ONDC. Under this scheme, these small sellers are provided support in digital literacy, awareness, cataloguing, and onboarding, with a focus on inclusivity by targeting 50% of beneficiaries as women-led SMEs.

- (b): As of 9 December 2025, there are a total of 1.16 lakh+ retail sellers live on the ONDC from over 630+ cities and towns across India. Metropolitan business district-wise classifications of sellers is however not maintained.
- (c): The ONDC network lowers entry barriers for small and micro businesses by enabling  interoperability  across  multiple  buyer  and  seller-side  applications, thereby increasing competition in digital commerce. The presence of multiple platforms  offering  the  same  products  and  services  promotes  greater  price transparency for consumers. Additionally, as sellers of different sizes and from diverse  geographies  become accessible  on  the  network,  consumers  benefit from a wider selection of products and services, enabling more informed and competitive choices.

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