ONDC Sees Strong Traction In FY26, Focuses On Scaling Digital Commerce Infrastructure

In a note titled ‘ONDC FY 2025-26 in Focus: Building Bharat's Digital Commerce Infrastructure’, ONDC said it focused on addressing market inefficiencies, improving access, and lowering costs through shared digital infrastructure. ONDC MD CEO Vibhor Jain said, “We have sharpened our focus on where ONDC can create truly distinctive value, removing systemic market frictions that limit the adoption of digital rails. Whether it is improving access to markets, enhancing operational efficiency, strengthening unit economics, or enabling low-cost digital infrastructure for innovation, our lens remains clear: build national-scale infrastructure that unlocks value for the ecosystem.” Sectoral Progress ONDC highlighted its impact on the sectoral progress across retail and rural commerce, noting that DigiDukaan has digitised Business-to-Business (B2B) procurement for kirana stores, while the Amazing India Swadeshi programme has expanded market access for rural producers, driving an 11-fold rise in order volumes. Direct-to-consumer segments have recorded around 38 per cent monthly growth since October 2025, along with reduced customer acquisition costs. In logistics, over 22 small fleet operators have been onboarded, while tools like First In, First Out (FIFO) have improved utilisation and scaled operations, boosting earnings for gig workers. The mobility network now facilitates over three lakh public transport ticket bookings daily across more than 25 platforms in multiple cities. In financial services, efforts to widen access to credit and investments have resulted in 75 per cent of investors coming from Tier 2 cities and beyond, with 5 per cent of borrowers being new to credit. Future Roadmap “As we look ahead to FY 2026-27, our ambition is to significantly deepen this impact. We will focus on strengthening trust and quality across the network, investing in shared infrastructure to lower the cost of participation, and unlocking new possibilities, particularly through agentic commerce initiatives like Vyapar LM, India’s sovereign commerce AI,” Jain said. The organisation said continued feedback from stakeholders will remain central to shaping the evolution of the network. (KNN Bureau)