India’s growing digital economy is going through a quiet revolution. UPI, ONDC, and Aadhaar are all part of the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). It is letting millions of tiny enterprises break free from the power that big online stores like Amazon and Flipkart have over them. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) started in 2022 and is quickly changing how retailers sell things online. It helps small businesses and local kirana stores compete better with big giants.
Business owners in Pune, Mumbai, and other places can’t pass up the possibility to reach customers all over India without spending a lot of money or having to deal with listings that are hard to discover. The digital stack in India is moving very quickly. Aadhaar makes it easy to check UPI transactions, which happen more than 14 billion times a month. ONDC is what will modify the rules and make it easy for everyone to buy things online. This useful tutorial shows small businesses how to sell on ONDC, which will help them compete with the two main online stores.
Getting ready for the rise of India’s digital public infrastructure
The DPI system in India is now a model for the rest of the globe, and it enables more people than ever find work. Aadhaar offers each of the 1.4 billion people who utilize it a unique 12-digit ID number.This makes it easy to verify their identity (KYC).According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) changed the way people pay for products online. In just October 2025, it handled 16.58 billion transactions totaling ₹25.14 lakh crore. The payment layer of the India digital stack is so flexible that it can handle any type of payment.
The newest pillar is ONDC. Like UPI, it is an open system that links buyers and sellers through a network of apps that no one person owns. Amazon and Flipkart’s closed systems collect fees of 15% to 30%. ONDC, on the other hand, lets small enterprises sell their goods using buyer applications like Paytm, PhonePe, or Groww, and vendor apps like Nic Dempsey or GigaKart. ONDC had more than 7 million firms and 150 million transactions every month by the start of 2026. By 2027, it should be 1 billion.
India has 63 million MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), which account for about 30% of the country’s GDP. This infrastructure helps them go digital, which is a significant problem. The Reserve Bank of India says that only 10% to 15% of people buy products online right now. ONDC makes that better by making it easier to do. You don’t need a lot of money to develop new websites or run ads. People who operate small businesses and want to understand “how to sell on ONDC” should do so today.
Why Small Businesses Should Use ONDC Instead of Amazon and Flipkart
RedSeer Consulting says that India’s internet commerce market will be worth $350 billion by 2026. Amazon (37% share) and Flipkart (30% share) will be the two biggest players. But their exorbitant costs, strict regulations for listing, and biased algorithms make it hard for small businesses to get ahead. ONDC is unusual because it doesn’t cost much or anything at all. For example, platforms only keep 1% to 5% of each sale, while big corporations keep 20% to 30%. This means that merchants on ONDC make between ₹950 and ₹990 on a ₹1,000 order, which provides them a lot more room to make money. Businesses may set it up once and sell from anywhere because it works in every state. People glance at buyer apps without seeing any adverts. Aadhaar and UPI work together to make payments and verification faster, which builds trust. Sellers also keep all of their customers’ information, which isn’t the case with Amazon’s walled gardens.
One of the experts that called ONDC “UPI for commerce” is Rajan Anandan, who used to run Google India. He believes that by 2028, it might have a 20% market share. ONDC helps small businesses go bigger. For instance, a tailor in Mumbai or a vendor of handmade goods in Pune can now easily get in touch with people in Kerala who want to buy them.
A guide for small enterprises on how to sell on ONDC, step by step
You don’t have to be a tech whiz to get started. This is a great choice for people who have rudimentary tech.
Step 1: Sign up for Aadhaar only if you meet the prerequisites.
If your PAN is linked to Aadhaar through the UIDAI portal, you can quickly hire new people. Go to ondc.org or use a seller app like GoFrugal or SellerApp. Enter your GSTIN (only businesses that produce more than ₹20 lakh in sales need this) and your cell phone number (which is connected to your Aadhaar) to validate your OTP. You can finish it in 10 to 15 minutes, and it will be accepted in 24 to 48 hours. Tip: Vendors that don’t charge GST can join ONDC’s pilot for kiranas and then grow from there.
Step 2: Pick a seller app and make a list of everything you possess.
ONDC doesn’t have listings; it connects apps. There are more than 200 certified apps to pick from. Nic Dempsey is a wonderful choice for supermarkets and kirana stores because it helps you get started and works with UPI. GigaKart is a terrific location to buy clothes and electronics since you can see how much stock you have and how well your sales are performing. SellerApp interacts with a lot of various channels and allows you get a lot of information. This manner, you can sell stuff like crafts and other things that are close to you. GoFrugal ONDC can help retail chains maintain track of their orders and work with point-of-sale systems. Add 50 to 100 things that have pictures, descriptions, prices, and options for sizes and colors. Your subtitles should be good for SEO, like “Organic Pune Jaggery 1kg,” and your photographs should be fewer than 2MB. Use location information like “Maharashtra spices” to help with keyword optimization for searches in your area.
Step 3: Set up payment and delivery.
UPI is great since you can link your bank account and pay for things for free in T+1 days. NPCI is linked to UPI and more than 300 banks. If you want to save money, use ONDC logistics companies like Delhivery or Ecom Express. The prices for each item range from ₹30 to ₹50, and you can choose how far away you want it delivered, starting at 20 to 50 miles. Make sure everything works by placing a test order.
Step 4: Improve it, tell people about it, and then go live.
When people shop online, your products will show up in their apps. You can tell people about your ONDC store by posting links to it on Facebook, WhatsApp Business, and X. Joining ONDC seller groups on Telegram could help you get ideas and awards for new sellers. For instance, you may give them 10% off their first order. The analytics dashboard shows you how many people have visited your site, how many of them have made a purchase, and how many have come back. Get at least four and a half stars. You should add 20 new products per week and strive to obtain 100 orders each month at first. This will help your business grow. ONDC case studies show that Nic Dempsey helped a Delhi kirana store’s sales go up by 300% in just six months.
How to Sell on ONDC for Small Businesses: Making India’s Digital Public Infrastructure More Open to Compete with Amazon and Flipkart
