India Said to Launch Open E-Commerce Network on Friday

India will on Friday launch an open community for digital commerce (ONDC) as the federal government tries to finish the dominance of US firms Amazon and Walmart within the fast-growing e-commerce market, a authorities doc confirmed.

The launch of the platform comes after India’s antitrust physique on Thursday raided home sellers of Amazon and a few of Walmart’s Flipkart following accusations of competitors regulation violations. The firms didn’t reply to request for touch upon the raids.

Indian retailers, key supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have lengthy contended that Amazon and Flipkart’s platforms profit a number of large sellers, through predatory pricing, although the businesses say they adjust to all Indian legal guidelines.

The authorities’s so-called ONDC platform will permit patrons and sellers to attach and transact with one another on-line, it doesn’t matter what different utility they use. It might be soft-launched on Friday earlier than being expanded, the commerce ministry informed Reuters.

The authorities doc stated that two giant multinational gamers managed greater than half of the nation’s e-commerce commerce, limiting entry to the market, giving preferential therapy to some sellers and squeezing provider margins. It didn’t title the businesses.

Amazon and Flipkart didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon ONDC.

The doc stated India’s ONDC plan aimed to onboard 30 million sellers and 10 million retailers on-line. The plan is to cowl no less than 100 cities and cities by August.

It would concentrate on apps in native languages for each patrons and sellers, with a particular emphasis on small retailers and rural shoppers, the doc stated in regards to the undertaking.

The authorities stated it had already acquired assist from retailers and enterprise capital companies. Lenders such because the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda have already dedicated whole investments of Rs. 2.55 billion rupees into ONDC.

A Reuters investigation final 12 months, based mostly on Amazon inner paperwork, confirmed the corporate had given preferential therapy for years to a small group of sellers on its platform and used them to bypass Indian legal guidelines. Amazon denies any wrongdoing.

© Thomson Reuters 2022