DPIIT & Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) Push DigiDukaan

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, chaired the Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir, a high-level CEO Roundtable convened by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), bringing together 40+ leaders of India's leading FMCG companies to deliberate on a shared roadmap for strengthening and digitising the country's General Trade ecosystem through ONDC DigiDukaan.

The roundtable focused on building a shared national roadmap to strengthen and reempower India's General Trade ecosystem, which remains central to the country's retail economy and the livelihoods of millions of neighbourhood retailers. Discussions emphasised the need for stronger institutional commitment from FMCG companies, distributors and industry stakeholders to accelerate digital procurement, improve supplychain efficiency and make kiranas more competitive. Through DigiDukaan, DPIIT and ONDC aims to bring the industry together around common digital infrastructure, shared services and commercially sustainable models that can enable this transformation at scale.

Held at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, the roundtable brought together senior leadership from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Coca-Cola India, ITC, P&G, Marico, CavinKare, Pidilite, Britannia, Adani Wilmar, LT Foods, Anmol Industries, Haldiram’s, Emami, Veeba, Nilon’s alongside representatives from logistics providers, technology partners and ONDC network participants.

Unlike traditional approaches to kirana digitisation that focus on enabling retailers to sell online, ONDC DigiDukaan addresses procurement first, digitising kiranas as buyers. Through a single digital interface, retailers can discover and order products across multiple brands, distributors and wholesalers, with greater visibility into pricing, trade schemes and product availability.

The initiative is designed to strengthen existing distribution relationships rather than replace them, while building a common digital foundation through which retailers can eventually access shared logistics, formal credit and other services. This approach aims to reduce the complexity and cost of participation across the General Trade value chain.

The roundtable discussions centred on these priorities for strengthening India's General Trade ecosystem:

Creating a common digital identity for kiranas: Building towards a unified, interoperable retailer identity that can make it easier for kiranas to engage with multiple brands, distributors and service providers without repeatedly navigating fragmented systems

Enabling shared logistics and micro-warehousing: Developing common infrastructure that can help distributors serve more retail outlets efficiently, including those outside existing delivery routes with the aim of enabling reliable next-day replenishment

Expanding access to formal credit: Exploring financing solutions linked to digital procurement and transaction activity, reducing dependence on informal distributor credit and improving access to working capital

Simplifying technology integration: Developing plug-and-play Distributor Management System (DMS) connectors, standardised catalogues and common digital interfaces to reduce onboarding complexity and enable wider industry participation

Realigning commercial incentives: Encouraging FMCG companies to review how sales teams, distributors and channel partners are incentivised, so that digital ordering, wider retail coverage and sustained retailer adoption become commercially beneficial across the value chain

DigiDukaan has demonstrated encouraging early traction, connecting 21,000+ retailers with over 450 brands across Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mumbai as of September 2026, up from 12,000+ retailers in the previous quarter. In Hyderabad, over 16,000 retailers are onboarded, with monthly repeat ordering rates of 73–78%. An initial ONDC retailer study also found that 40% of surveyed retailers reported lower inventory holdings for products procured through DigiDukaan, highlighting the potential for improved working capital efficiency.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Union Minister of Commerce and Industry,said, “ONDC’s DigiDukaan shows that when open digital infrastructure is built around the needs of the small retailer, adoption follows. Let this become another case study where the world can learn from India. By making procurement simpler and more transparent while strengthening our distributors, we can help kiranas free up working capital and grow. I invite the FMCG industry to work together and take this to every corner of Bharat.”

Shri Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said, “Open digital infrastructure has a critical role to play in accelerating the digitalisation of India’s retail ecosystem, particularly its vast network of kirana stores. ONDC’s DigiDukaan is an important step in this direction, demonstrating how an open, interoperable network can enable neighbourhood retailers to access digital procurement opportunities and participate more effectively in the evolving digital economy. By bringing together retailers, FMCG companies and distributors on a common network, DPIIT along with ONDC is helping build a more connected and efficient General Trade ecosystem, creating a pathway for digitalisation to reach kiranas at scale.”

The National Traders' Welfare Board (NTWB), under the chairmanship of Shri Sunil J. Singhi has been working closely with ONDC to accelerate DigiDukaan's adoption among kirana retailers. The collaboration focuses on mobilising local trade associations, strengthening retailer participation and enabling small businesses to benefit from digital procurement and more efficient distribution networks.

Vibhor Jain, MD & CEO, ONDC, said, “Digital adoption for the distributor fraternity has been developing - billing, printing, order placement are largely online. But retailers, most of which are mom-and-pop shops, still run on pen, paper and memory. DigiDukaan is ONDC's effort to build digital infrastructure for India's General Trade ecosystem in retail. We are digitising kiranas as buyers, while strengthening the existing distributor network rather than replacing it. Our ambition is not merely to connect kiranas to another application. It is to build a shared digital foundation that strengthens and brings network efficiency to the entire General Trade ecosystem. A retailer should be able to access multiple brands through one interface, benefit from transparent schemes, receive dependable and fast replenishment and eventually access formal credit through the same connected ecosystem.”

DigiDukaan is building a growing ecosystem of FMCG brands, technology providers and logistics partners on ONDC. Leading FMCG companies including HUL, Marico, ColgatePalmolive, Emami and Amul are participating through their distribution networks, while ITC, Tata Consumer Products and Britannia are at various stages of integration or discussion. On the technology front, Paytm for Business, Qwipo and Mulltiply.ai are live on the network, with leading DMS and technology providers including Bizom, Botree, QuIDPe and ENS progressing towards integration. Logistics and warehousing partners such as ElasticRun, Shiprocket, India Post and Moeving are also part of the expanding ecosystem, supporting DigiDukaan's ambition to enable seamless procurement, wider distributor reach and faster replenishment for kirana retailers across India.

As part of its next phase, ONDC is focusing on deepening brand and distributor participation in Mumbai, particularly North Mumbai, while strengthening operations across existing markets.