The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has been awarded the prestigious Gold Award under the category "Application of Emerging Technologies for Providing Citizen-Centric Services" in the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) during the 27^th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG). The award ceremony was held on 3^rd September 2024, in Mumbai.

The National Awards for e-Governance by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) is recognized amongst the most competitive and prestigious digital governance recognition in the country. The objective of the award is to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives and to encourage innovation in successful e-Governance solutions. The NAeG are conferred under different categories each year during the National Conference on E-Governance (NCeG). The Conference is organised every year by the DARPG in collaboration with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and respective State Government hosting the annual event. The Government of Maharashtra hosted the 27th Edition of the NCeG in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

ONDC, a key building block of India’s globally renowned Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), was conceptualised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as a bridge between public service delivery and technological enablement of retail trade sector at large. ONDC utilises and has deployed unique approach towards massifying e-commerce i.e. deployment of technological led interventions. By virtue of being interoperable, unbundled, and decentralised, ONDC splits a complex system into discrete microservices that different players can offer separately, with positive outcomes for all. ONDC architecture fosters trust in e-commerce system. ONDC is now enabling more than 12 million orders per month, spread across categories ranging from fashion to electronics in products, and ride-hailing to metro ticketing in services. Recently, ONDC crossed another milestone of having over 6 lakh sellers across India live on the network.

ONDC is empowering a diverse range of sellers, including lakhs of small businesses, artisans, women entrepreneurs, farmers, and street vendors to compete effectively and reach a wider audience. At the same time, ONDC’s democratisation of e-commerce has fostered competition and innovation, making sure consumers benefit from increased choice and competitive prices. ONDC functions with a startup mindset and Government scale approach wherein it is adapting to evolving market dynamics with agility, driven by a team of technocrats and mentored by veteran ONDC Advisory Council.

ONDC is further expanding its capabilities for deeper and greater integration with key platforms of the Government. This is intended to further enhance ease of doing business, faster access to credit and data flow amongst Government platforms. ONDC will make it possible for inter-locks and linkages across Government platforms to serve common set of beneficiaries for achievement of unified objectives.

Representing the ONDC ecosystem, the prestigious Gold Award in the NAeG in 27^th edition of the NCeG was received by Shri Sanjiv, Joint Secretary, DPIIT; Shri T. Koshy, CEO, ONDC and other officials from the department.

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