ONDC may cover mobility, hospitality and travel sectors

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Officials said the Open Network for Digital Trade (ONDC), an initiative to promote open networks for the exchange of goods and services, is now likely to be extended to the mobility, hospitality and travel sectors.

At the same time, the government will continue to work on expanding pilot projects for selling groceries, food and other essential items by adding more vendors and products, such as clothing, fashion and electronics.

“At ONDC, the technology has been tested with a successful trial run in Bengaluru Grocery & Food. The Department for the Promotion of Industry and Domestic Trade (DPIIT) is now also working on the concept of having an ONDC in mobility, hospitality and travel,” said a person tracking the development. business line.

More potential

In Kochi, Kerala State Transport Department has already introduced ONDC for Mobility which has met with success. The source added that DPIIT sees huge scope for the rest of the country as commuters need an option beyond existing services such as Uber and Ola.

“ONDC, which aims to democratize the world of digital commerce, will enable consumers to have more transportation options and can also help increase the penetration of electric mobility,” said Tushar Garg, Chief Business Officer of BluSmart.

There is also a growing interest from the hospitality and travel industry in introducing the platform.

Industry bodies such as the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) say they are keen on ONDC as it will be easier for travel and hotel players to operate on the network due to the lack of last mile logistics.

ONDC’s plans to expand into the mobility, hotel and travel sectors come at a time when the hotel and restaurant sectors of traditional transportation (car drivers and taxis) are on the rebound against the growing monopoly of some complexes.

According to a study by Publicis Groupe and Digital India Foundation, players in the travel, transport and logistics sector like hotels will be able to list their inventories through the seller app on ONDC to increase reach and reduce overhead costs. Existing aggregators will have the opportunity to join ONDC as a buyer-side or vendor-side application to generate increased revenue.

Restaurants will be able to take advantage of ONDC network partners (portals, logistics, etc.) to serve their customers. Based on empirical evidence, ONDC’s commission structure is likely to be more competitive vs The study indicated that the establishment of food delivery platforms.

Pradeep Shetty, Executive Committee Member of FHRAI said that the expansion of ONDC has the potential to solve major issues facing the sector. “This will ensure consumers as well as business ventures are not underestimated and ensure that local players get a level playing field. Infact, I think it will be much easier for the hotel industry to join the ONDC because unlike the food and beverage sector, there is no aspect of last mile logistics” Shetty added.

expansion plan

The source said the ONDC pilot project, which was introduced in Bengaluru earlier this year for grocery and food and has so far completed around 2,500 applications, will be extended to smaller cities across the country. “The soft launch in major cities, including Delhi, will come later when the platform gains momentum and becomes successful in smaller venues,” the source said.