ONDC will democratize the benefits of e-commerce, said Piyush Goyal. (File)
New Delhi:
Open Network of Digital Commerce (ONDC), a protocol in the form of a unified payments interface, will help small retailers survive the onslaught of large technology-based e-commerce companies, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said today.
ONDC is an initiative of the ministry to help small retailers expand their business and reduce the dominance of e-commerce giants. It aims to create an open, interoperable network where buyers and sellers can transact without being on the same platform.
It offers small retailers the opportunity to offer their services and goods to shoppers across the country through an e-commerce system where shoppers can purchase products sold on any platform.
“ONDC will help our small retailers survive the onslaught of large tech-based e-commerce companies,” Piyush Goyal said at an event for the retail sector.
The drive, he said, is to encourage small companies and startups to integrate into the e-commerce ecosystem.
“Like UPI democratized payment systems, ONDC democratizes the benefits of e-commerce,” he added.
He also said that the consumer industry and FMCGs in India have fallen victim to substandard imports and people have suffered as a result.
Without naming China, he said India’s imports from one geography led to a significant increase in the trade deficit between 2004-14 and eroded the back of Indian manufacturing.
“When we do free trade talks, the focus will be on the opportunities that India has to offer,” Goyal said, adding that the government has focused on bringing manufacturing back to India over the past few years.
He added that the government had managed to stop the decline in production and now “we have to work to bring it to greater heights.”
Consumers are equally responsible for making this happen, he said.
Regarding the promotion of quality production, he said that the government is making efforts to widely implement quality standards in domestic production to counter irrational competition, increase production scale and increase competitiveness.
“Every consumer should aspire to quality, sustainable, local products. India should promote a message of respect for products and opportunities offered by consumers,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published on a syndicated channel.)
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