ONDC’s Quiet Revolution
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is not India’s version of Amazon. It’s India’s attempt to outgrow Amazon entirely.
What is ONDC, really?
Launched in 2022, ONDC is a protocol—like UPI, but for ecommerce. Instead of one app controlling everything, ONDC allows buyers, sellers, and logistics partners to plug into a shared digital infrastructure. Think of it as unbundling Flipkart into interoperable parts.
How it’s built
The model splits commerce into three functions:
- Buyer-side apps like Paytm or IDFC that show listings.
- Seller-side gateways like uEngage or GoFrugal that digitize supply.
- Logistics nodes like Loadshare or Shiprocket that handle delivery.
All communicate via a shared protocol layer built on India’s “Bharat Stack” architecture.
Where it’s working
ONDC has seen early wins in groceries, mobility, and food delivery. The Namma Yatri app in Bengaluru has already challenged Ola-Uber dominance using ONDC’s ride-hailing protocol. In food delivery, ONDC-connected restaurants pay less commission versus Swiggy or Zomato.
The friction points
Despite momentum, ONDC faces real bottlenecks:
- User experience: Varies across apps. No consistent flow like Amazon.
- Returns & refunds: Fragmented and underdeveloped.
- Network density: Lacks liquidity in non-metro regions.
The long game
If it scales, ONDC will become a decentralized “commerce layer” for Bharat. It won’t beat Amazon with flash sales—it’ll beat them by making centralized platforms unnecessary.
The bata takeaway
India is no longer building alternatives to Big Tech. It’s building protocols that bypass them entirely. ONDC is not a company—it’s a signal of where digital Bharat is headed.