ONDC's mobility project crosses over 5,000 rides/day in Kolkata
The Indian government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is making waves in India's ride-hailing sector. The mobility pilot project in Kolkata, initiated in July and conducted through West Bengal government's Yatri Sathi app has exceeded expectations. In September alone, it averaged over 5,000 rides per day. With around 250,000 completed trips, 365,000 registered users, 18,600 registered driver partners, and driver earnings surpassing Rs. 7 crore, the pilot's success paves the way for a full-scale launch in the coming weeks.
ONDC's successful expansion in southern cities
ONDC has already made strides in southern cities such as Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Kochi, where its mobility vertical has significantly impacted the ride-hailing market. The Namma Yatri app, operating in Bengaluru, is now clocking nearly one lakh rides per day. After a year of operation, it has seen over 10 million trips completed, driver earnings exceeding Rs. 150 crore, almost two million registered users, and 95,000 registered drivers.
Government aims to reduce the dominance of major players
With ONDC, the government aims to foster competition and reduce the dominance of major players like Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, and Ola. The ambitious goal is to achieve 25% e-commerce penetration, reaching 900 million buyers and 1.2 million sellers, generating a gross merchandise value of $48 billion. ONDC recently revamped its incentive scheme, offering buyer-side apps more flexibility in providing discounts. Subsidies in the food category were halved, and measures to increase merchant density in non-metro districts were implemented.
Growing merchant network and education initiatives
Over 54,500 merchants have joined ONDC, collectively offering approximately 75 lakh stock-keeping units (SKUs). They process an average of 20,000 orders daily, with peak orders reaching 35,000. To expand into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, ONDC initiated an online educational program for merchants in multiple languages. Additionally, state broadcaster Doordarshan plans to launch regular programming to educate buyers and sellers nationwide about ONDC.
