Google Launches ONDC Accelerator Program to Revolutionise E-commerce in India

Google recently held its first I/O Connect event in India, where it unveiled a range of AI tools and technologies aimed at supporting growth and innovation among local developers. The announcements made during the event emphasised Google's commitment to helping developers build AI-powered products in a productive, creative, and responsible manner.

One of the key initiatives introduced by Google Cloud is an accelerator program for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This program aims to assist India's digital sellers in building and scaling their digital commerce operations. As part of this effort, Google Cloud is open-sourcing a ready implementation of the ONDC infrastructure and core APIs to facilitate scalability and security. Additionally, Google Cloud is providing access to its Retail AI technology and PaLM API. Furthermore, a startup credits program has been introduced, allowing organisations enabling ONDC to apply for a grant of USD $25,000.

Another significant announcement made by Google is the open-sourcing of its research models and datasets, specifically focused on India. This initiative aims to help developers create meaningful solutions using India-focused speech data and building information. 

T Koshy, the Managing Director and CEO at ONDC, expressed enthusiasm about Google Cloud's Accelerator Program, stating that it reinforces ONDC's mission to revolutionise the e-commerce landscape and bring about increased efficiency, agility, and customer-centricity. By simplifying the onboarding process through efficient core APIs, this addition to the open network empowers enterprises to focus on their core competencies.

“The addition of Google Cloud's Accelerator Program reinforces ONDC’s mission to revolutionise the ecommerce landscape, ushering in a new era of efficiency, agility, and customer-centricity. By streamlining the onboarding process through efficient core APIs, this milestone addition to the open network empowers enterprises to focus on their core competencies,” koshy said.

In recent times, ONDC has been working to streamline its onboarding process and enhance its payments and settlements. One such effort involves a collaboration between Protean and NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited. They have launched the Recon & Settlement Product (RSP) on the NBBL's NOCS platform, serving as a Settlement Agency (SA) to enhance ONDC's payments and settlements. Additionally, Shiprocket's Seller App has been introduced to streamline ONDC onboarding and integration for merchants, addressing previous concerns about the onboarding process being slower compared to platforms like UPI, as acknowledged by ONDC's CTO, Nitin Mishra in a conversation with AIM.