Thampy Koshy, the founding managing director and CEO of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has resigned, ending an important phase for the government-supported e-commerce network.

Koshy resigned over three years after becoming the leader of the ONDC project to democratize digital commerce in India.

Koshy, a former senior partner at EY, played a key role in developing the initial ONDC structure, managing its pilot and subsequent nationwide implementation, and encouraging ecosystem engagement from buyer apps, logistics companies, and sellers.

"Koshy has expressed his desire to step down while helping on with the change. The MD & CEO responsibilities have been transitioned to an executive committee with Koshy available to the board over the next 3 months for advise," ONDC has said.

His decision to leave parallels with ONDC's efforts to expand its operations and strengthen its position in important markets like groceries, fashion, food delivery, and mobility.

Reports state that an interim management committee has been established by the ONDC board to supervise day-to-day activities and guarantee business continuity.

 

In April 2022, the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was introduced with the goal of democratizing e-commerce in India.

ONDC was developed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with the goal of leveling the playing field by allowing local companies and small shops to engage in digital commerce using an open protocol.

In an effort to unravel the e-commerce ecosystem and enable cross-platform transactions between customers and sellers, ONDC is positioned as a substitute for network-centric models that are dominated by companies such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Since its inception, ONDC has onboarded an increasing number of vendors, logistics companies, and network members and conducted trial projects in multiple cities.

Even while its retail orders are still below the October peak, ONDC reported almost 1.5 crore transactions in February, more than doubling from the previous year due to volume growth in the mobility vertical. 

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Experts predict that by the end of the fiscal year, there will be 15 crore transactions overall.