DPI Deep Dive — Thursday | June 25, 2026

L4: Commerce & Logistics — ONDC, GeM, and the Democratisation of Digital Trade

This week in India’s Commerce & Logistics layer of Digital Public Infrastructure has been one of the most active in recent memory. From ONDC closing a landmark ₹430 crore funding round and launching metro ticketing with Uber, to GeM signing two significant partnerships expanding multilingual access and rural procurement, and DigiDukaan going live in Jaipur — the momentum is unmistakable. Below, we unpack five major developments.

1. ONDC Closes ₹430 Crore Funding Round — Zoho, Uber, Paytm, SBI, PNB, Amul Come Together

The Open Network for Digital Commerce completed its largest funding round to date, raising approximately ₹430 crore from a coalition of strategic investors. According to Moneycontrol, the round saw participation from technology firms, platform players, financial institutions, and cooperatives — a mix that signals broad-based confidence in ONDC’s open commerce thesis.

Key investors and amounts reported:

  • Zoho — ₹70 crore (lead)
  • Uber India — ₹60 crore
  • Paytm (One97 Communications) — ₹60 crore
  • BSE Technologies — ₹30 crore
  • State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) — significant institutional contributions
  • Amul (GCMMF) — cooperative sector participation

This is not a passive cheque-writing exercise. Uber’s investment is directly tied to its operational integrations with ONDC (more on that below). Zoho’s lead position aligns with its long-standing advocacy for open-source and interoperable software. SBI and PNB’s participation signals that public sector banks — which handle the L2 payments rails via UPI — now see ONDC as a commercial infrastructure bet, not just a policy project. Amul’s entry is particularly noteworthy: it brings India’s largest dairy cooperative into the open commerce fold, potentially opening ONDC’s network to FMCG distribution at population scale.

Why this matters: ONDC reported a net loss of ₹147.13 crore in FY25 despite topline growth [^1]. This capital injection buys runway for network scaling, but more importantly, it creates a web of commercial incentives. Every investor now has skin in the game to ensure ONDC succeeds — because their own platforms benefit from interoperability. This is the UPI playbook applied to e-commerce: get the incumbents to invest in the protocol, not fight it.

2. Uber Launches Metro Ticketing via ONDC — Delhi First, Expanding to Five Cities

Uber went live with metro ticketing on its app, powered by ONDC, starting with Delhi Metro. Users can now plan metro journeys, purchase QR-based tickets, and access real-time transit information directly within the Uber app — without switching to a separate metro app or website.

This marks Uber’s first integration with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure [^2]. The feature follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed during Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s 2024 visit to India. More than 10 million metro rides have already been booked through the Uber-ONDC interoperable infrastructure across five Indian cities, indicating strong market demand for consolidated public transit options.

Uber also revealed plans to launch a B2B Logistics solution via ONDC, allowing businesses to request on-demand delivery services from Uber’s fleet without maintaining their own. This transforms Uber from a consumer ride-hailing app into a full-stack mobility and logistics infrastructure provider — all running through an open protocol.

Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber’s Chief Technology Officer, emphasised that India’s progress in building scalable digital infrastructure aligns with Uber’s vision of becoming a one-stop mobility solution. ONDC’s Acting CEO (now MD & CEO) Vibhor Jain called Uber’s participation a significant step in expanding access to interoperable digital infrastructure.

Cross-layer connection: This sits at the intersection of L2 (UPI payments for ticketing), L4 (ONDC commerce protocol), and potentially L5 (if metro transit data integrates with sectoral civic infrastructure). It is a concrete demonstration of DPI layer composability — each layer doing what it does best, composed into a user experience.

3. GeM × BHASHINI: Breaking Language Barriers in Public Procurement

On 15 June 2026, the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed an MoU to integrate AI-based language technologies into India’s public procurement platform [^3].

What this enables:

  • AI-powered translation of procurement documents, tenders, and seller onboarding materials into multiple Indian languages
  • Voice-based support for sellers who may not be comfortable with written English
  • Multilingual seller onboarding, platform navigation, and communication

This is a direct attack on one of the biggest exclusion filters in government procurement: language. A weaver in Varanasi, an artisan in Jaipur, or a Farmer Producer Organisation in Tamil Nadu should not need English proficiency to sell to the government. BHASHINI — India’s AI-powered language translation DPI — provides the bridge.

Cross-layer connection: BHASHINI sits across multiple DPI layers. Its integration with GeM (L4) demonstrates how language AI infrastructure can be horizontally composed into any vertical application. The same BHASHINI APIs that power voice bots for agricultural advisories (L5) are now powering procurement accessibility.

4. GeM × CSC: 50 Suvidha Kendras to Bring Procurement to Rural India

On 18 June 2026, GeM and CSC-SPV (Common Service Centre) signed an expanded MoU to deepen their collaboration, building on an earlier partnership from 2022 [^4].

Key features of the expanded partnership:

  • Establishment of 50 GeM Suvidha Kendras (GSKs) on a pilot basis across Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, and West Bengal
  • These centres will provide end-to-end assistance — from seller registration and catalogue listing to vendor assessment and brand approval
  • Target beneficiaries: MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, SC/ST entrepreneurs, startups, artisans, weavers, Self-Help Groups, and Farmer Producer Organisations

The earlier GeM-CSC collaboration helped register approximately 5.3 lakh sellers. The expanded scope aims to improve conversion from registration to active listing — addressing the “last-mile” problem where many sellers register but never successfully start selling.

The MoU was signed by Ajit B. Chavan (Additional CEO, GeM) and Subodh Mishra (Senior VP, CSC-SPV).

Why this matters: GeM handles government procurement worth over ₹5 lakh crore annually. But that opportunity has been concentrated among larger, urban, English-speaking vendors. The CSC network — with its physical presence in gram panchayats across India — is the ideal last-mile distribution channel for procurement onboarding. This is DPI meeting physical infrastructure.

5. DigiDukaan Launches in Jaipur; Kerala and Odisha State-Level ONDC Push

Two state-level developments this week underscore ONDC’s expanding geographic footprint:

Jaipur DigiDukaan Launch (19 June): Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma launched ONDC-powered DigiDukaan in Jaipur, a digital initiative aimed at bringing small traders onto the ONDC network. The National Traders’ Welfare Board noted the “encouraging response from traders” and discussed expansion plans to Mumbai and Bengaluru, followed by a nationwide rollout [^5]. The Board also deliberated on food safety compliance, quick commerce concerns, and export promotion for MSMEs.

Kerala ONDC Workshop (24 June): Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty inaugurated an inter-departmental workshop on ONDC in Thiruvananthapuram, stating that ONDC will “open up global markets for Kerala entrepreneurs” and provide MSMEs direct access to international buyers [^6]. The Kerala Industries Department positioned ONDC as a tool for enhancing profitability and fostering a digital commerce ecosystem for the state’s small businesses.

Odisha ONDC Partnership: Odisha continued expanding its ONDC integration for MSMEs and artisans, with the state partnering to boost tourism through digital commerce channels — connecting local producers and service providers directly to tourists via the open network.

Analysis: The Week That Commerce DPI Came of Age

This week represents a qualitative shift in India’s Commerce & Logistics DPI. Consider the converging signals:

  1. Capital is flowing in, not just mandates flowing down. The ONDC funding round mixes fintech (Paytm), SaaS (Zoho), mobility (Uber), banking (SBI, PNB), and cooperatives (Amul). Each investor is also a potential network participant — this is strategic, not philanthropic.

  2. Use cases are expanding beyond retail. Metro ticketing and B2B logistics via ONDC demonstrate that the protocol is not limited to buying groceries. It is becoming horizontal commerce infrastructure — transport, logistics, services, retail.

  3. Access barriers are being systematically dismantled. GeM’s BHASHINI partnership removes the language barrier. The CSC expansion removes the urban/rural and digital literacy barriers. DigiDukaan removes the technology adoption barrier for small traders.

  4. States are competing on DPI adoption. Rajasthan, Kerala, and Odisha are all actively pushing ONDC adoption, each with different approaches — trader onboarding, MSME global market access, and tourism enablement respectively.

  5. Cross-layer composition is accelerating. Metro ticketing via ONDC uses UPI for payments (L2). BHASHINI on GeM uses India’s AI language stack across layers. The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) was referenced in the NTWB meeting as the foundation enabling these newer commerce applications.

The risk, as always, remains execution. ONDC’s ₹147 crore loss in FY25 indicates that scaling an open network is expensive. GeM’s 5.3 lakh registered sellers converting to active participants remains a challenge. But the architecture is right, the capital is committed, and the use cases are diversifying. India’s Commerce DPI is no longer a pilot — it is becoming infrastructure.

Sources:

  • Moneycontrol: ONDC raises ₹220 crore from Zoho, Uber, Paytm, BSE Technologies [^1]
  • APAC News Network: Uber launches metro ticketing via ONDC [^2]
  • SME Futures / Sarkari Pariksha: BHASHINI and GeM sign MoU for multilingual procurement [^3]
  • Indian-Apparel.com: GeM-CSC partnership expands government procurement access [^4]
  • Businessworld: ONDC-powered DigiDukaan set to expand across cities [^5]
  • Hindu Business Line / Passionate in Marketing: ONDC will open up global markets for Kerala entrepreneurs [^6]