The government's initiative Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is providing a huge platform for the growth of four key sectors, including financial services, agriculture, manufacturing, and e-commerce retail. This is what Deloitte said in a recent report. 

It noted that ONDC presents an opportunity for financial institutions to engage with the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) segment. These entities are mainly dependent on government schemes and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for credit as they are not deemed creditworthy by mainstream financial institutions. The report projected that the digital commerce sector will touch $350 billion by 2030. 

"The ONDC ecosystem is expected to digitise the data available on SMEs (using the transaction data) with the help of financial technology services providers, the report titled 'commerce@Bharat: Redefining business models and supply chain', underlined. 

It added that the increased adoption of ONDC in smaller cities and rural areas will open newer segments for banks and also drive tailored products and services catering to this segment's needs. 

"The MSME segments have been traditionally dominated by regional players. ONDC opens up opportunities for digital-savvy financial institutions to cater to the segment," it said. 

Highlighting its importance to the agriculture sector, the report noted that the ONDC will provide an opportunity to accelerate technology adoption in agriculture throughout the country as it can integrate both buyers and sellers across the farm value chain onto a single network.

"The network might come as a boon for AgriTech start-ups that face the challenge of discoverability. FPOs will get access to input, technology, equipment, and services from companies and government bodies," it said. 

Commenting on the report, Sathish Gopalaiah, president-consulting for Deloitte South Asia, said that ONDC is a remarkable opportunity for India's economy spanning diverse industries. 

About the manufacturing sector, the report said, "ONDC is likely to enable the manufacturing community to tap some of these opportunities and address challenges across the value chain,". The availability of a large pool of logistics service providers on ONDC, organisations can optimise overall logistics cost and manage demand increases more effectively. 

Over the past few months, categories such as grocery, food delivery, home and decor, electronics, fashion and lifestyle, beauty and personal care, and pharmaceuticals have been leveraging the ONDC network with the support of multiple stakeholders, the report observed.