ONDC Projects Massive Growth in Monthly Transactions with MSME Support

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), backed by the government, projects reaching 30-40 million monthly transactions by March next year. It witnessed a significant increase from 7 million in March to 10 million in June. ONDC plans to integrate flow-based lending and insurance, aiming to democratize India's e-commerce ecosystem.

The government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) anticipates recording 30-40 million monthly transactions through its platform by March next year, revealed MD & CEO T Koshy on Wednesday.

In June, the open network saw 10 million transactions, up from over 7 million in March. Koshy shared these projections during a CII event, emphasizing the network's growth trajectory.

ONDC now hosts 5-6 lakh merchants, with the number expected to rise considerably soon. Koshy also announced a pilot scheme for flow-based lending, aiming to facilitate loans based on transaction history instead of physical collateral. The initiative has already seen 50-60 actual disbursals.

In related news, IT Secretary S Krishnan highlighted the vast opportunities for MSMEs in India's manufacturing sector. He stressed the importance of adopting technology and digital tools for growth, particularly in electronics component manufacturing, benefiting both employment and exports.

Krishnan noted that while India has made strides in mobile phone manufacturing, the challenge remains to increase value addition. For electronics manufacturing to deepen its roots in India, a significant proportion of components must be domestically manufactured. He shared Meity's goal to double value addition to 35-40% in the next five years.

Additionally, the ONDC is set to integrate insurance into its offerings shortly, Koshy confirmed.

(With inputs from agencies.)