Govt may bring e-commerce policy once ONDC stabilises: Report

The government will look to stabilise its e-commerce firm ONDC and address the data privacy concerns before bringing a proposed e-commerce policy, according to an official source.

In June 2021, the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry released a draft set of rules that aims to tighten the governance of e-commerce platforms.

On the other side, the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Commerce and Industry Ministry is also framing a national e-commerce policy. A couple of ministries are involved in the policy making as it lies in the jurisdiction of other legislations.

"We have already launched the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to help small retailers. It has gone quite well. We have raised funds for ONDC. Once this gets stabilised and democratised, it will be easy to formalise the proposed e-commerce policy," the source said.

There is also an element of data privacy in e-commerce, which Ministry of