ONDC's insurance products to be available in 12 months

INSURANCE PRODUCTS MAY be available on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce in the next 9-12 months, a top ONDC official told FE.

- OJASVI GUPTA

The idea is to mitigate risks arising from returns and cancellations and the partners will be finalised soon, he added without giving details.

"What if I can get insurance for a small seller? We are trying to build an insurance mechanism. When you come as a network, it helps as insurance works in volume, premium reduces and certainty increases," the official said.

ONDC ventured into financial services sometime back. In August 2023, it publicly announced plans to introduce financial products—including insurance and credit—to consumers in the network.

The insurance mechanism, when implemented would protect small sellers from losses from cancellations, returns, or failed cash-on-delivery orders. Moreover, entry barriers for medium and small scale units would be lowered, in turn encouraging greater participation on the network, and building trust among buyers, strengthening ONDC's ecosystem without relying on heavy subsidies.