Expecting international transactions on ONDC soon: CEO

New Delhi: Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is working on a mechanism to enable merchants to make their products visible globally and expects international transactions on the platform soon, ONDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer T Koshy said on Monday.

"There is an interest... and we are enabling merchants to make their products visible globally. We expect to... formally inaugurate international transactions (on the ONDC) in the SME forum next week," Koshy said at the DPG Dialogue here.

The ONDC model is meant to protect the interest of both buyers and sellers, Koshy said.

"If I come on the platform as a buyer looking for a mobile phone, (a platform owner's) job is to look at the buyer's interest...

"If you're a seller, the platform should try to say how to present yourself... in the best way... so that you are more appealing to the buyer network," Koshy said.

The ONDC top boss also hinted at the possibility of exploring a collaboration with Bhashini, an AI-powered language translation platform.

"As we have more seller applications, that (collaboration between Bhashini and ONDC) will become a natural requirement. Once a tool like this is available, they (sellers) will have all the reasons (to be a part of ONDC)," Koshy said.

Former UIDAI CEO and MeitY ex-Secretary Dr R S Sharma said the BHIM app was not built to compete with market forces, and advocated for the need to upgrade tech talent for government technology solutions like digital public infrastructure and digital public goods.

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