New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met over 40 leaders from leading FMCG companies to deliberate on a shared roadmap for strengthening and digitising India’s General Trade ecosystem through ONDC ‘DigiDukaan’.
He chaired the Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir, a high-level CEO Roundtable convened by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
“ONDC’s ‘DigiDukaan’ shows that when open digital infrastructure is built around the needs of the small retailer, adoption follows. Let this become another case study where the world can learn from India,” Goyal said at a roundtable.
“By making procurement simpler and more transparent while strengthening our distributors, we can help kiranas free up working capital and grow. I invite the FMCG industry to work together and take this to every corner of Bharat,” the minister noted.
DigiDukaan has connected over 21,000 retailers with more than 450 brands across Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mumbai (as of September 2026), compared with over 12,000 retailers in the previous quarter.
Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said that Open digital infrastructure has a critical role to play in accelerating the digitalisation of India’s retail ecosystem, particularly its vast network of kirana stores.
“ONDC’s DigiDukaan is an important step in this direction, demonstrating how an open, interoperable network can enable neighbourhood retailers to access digital procurement opportunities and participate more effectively in the evolving digital economy. By bringing together retailers, FMCG companies and distributors on a common network, DPIIT along with ONDC is helping build a more connected and efficient General Trade ecosystem, creating a pathway for digitalisation to reach kiranas at scale,” Bhatia said.
The discussions focused on strengthening and re-empowering the General Trade ecosystem, which remains central to India’s retail economy and supports the livelihoods of millions of neighbourhood retailers.
Senior representatives from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Coca-Cola India, ITC, P&G, Marico, CavinKare, Pidilite, Britannia, Adani Wilmar, LT Foods, Anmol Industries, Haldiram’s, Emami, Veeba and Nilon’s participated in the roundtable, along with representatives from logistics providers, technology partners and ONDC network participants.
ONDC DigiDukaan addresses procurement by digitising kiranas as buyers. Through a single digital interface, retailers can discover and order products across multiple brands, distributors and wholesalers, with greater visibility into pricing, trade schemes and product availability.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ONDC, Vibhor Jain, said that “We are digitising kiranas as buyers, while strengthening the existing distributor network rather than replacing it.”
—IANS
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