Computing, IT & AI
ONDC and the Beckn protocol
2021-2022 CEDPIIT; Beckn by Nandan Nilekani, Pramod Varma and Sujith NairONDC incorporated 31 December 2021; pilot 29 April 2022Pan-Indian / unspecified
2021
An open network for e-commerce: any buyer app can reach any seller on any participating platform.
- Dated
- 2021–2022
- As scholars put it
- 2021-2022 CE
- Originator
- DPIIT; Beckn by Nandan Nilekani, Pramod Varma and Sujith Nair
- Source text
- ONDC incorporated 31 December 2021; pilot 29 April 2022
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Computing, IT & AI
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Verified-web
Background
Online shopping is usually locked inside a few large platforms. ONDC, built on the open Beckn protocol, separates the buyer app from the seller app and from logistics, in the same way that UPI lets any payment app pay any bank. The pilot began in five cities in April 2022, and a public beta followed in Bengaluru that September.
Significance
Applies the open, interoperable approach of digital public infrastructure to commerce itself. Beckn is not limited to shopping and is also used for mobility, such as auto-rickshaw hailing.
Fair to say
Its share of Indian e-commerce is still small.
Path to modern innovation
Used by small retailers, farmer producer organisations, restaurants and ride-hailing apps.
Builds on
2016Global impact
- Small sellers reach buyers on many apps without paying a single platform.
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-386 on GitHub.