ONDC’s DigiDukaan initiative has connected over 21,000 retailers with 450 brands across Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mumbai, with the government seeking wider industry participation
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called on FMCG companies and industry stakeholders to work together to accelerate the digitalisation of India’s 1.4 crore kirana stores, as the government steps up efforts to strengthen the country’s general trade ecosystem through ONDC’s DigiDukaan initiative.
Goyal chaired a high-level CEO roundtable, Bharat Commerce Chintan Shivir, organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting brought together more than 40 senior leaders from leading FMCG companies to discuss a common roadmap for digitising procurement and improving the competitiveness of neighbourhood retailers.
The discussions focused on securing greater institutional commitment from FMCG companies, distributors and other stakeholders to promote digital procurement, streamline supply chains and improve access to services for small retailers.
DigiDukaan Focuses On Digitising Procurement
Unlike conventional kirana digitisation initiatives that primarily help retailers sell products online, ONDC’s DigiDukaan focuses on digitising them as buyers. The platform aims to enable neighbourhood stores to discover and order products from multiple brands, distributors and wholesalers through a single digital interface.
Retailers can access greater transparency on pricing, trade schemes and product availability while continuing to work with their existing distribution partners. The initiative also aims to create a common digital infrastructure that can eventually connect kiranas with shared logistics, micro-warehousing and formal credit facilities.
Senior representatives from Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola India, ITC, P&G, Marico, CavinKare, Pidilite, Britannia, Adani Wilmar, LT Foods, Anmol Industries, Haldiram’s, Emami, Veeba and Nilon’s attended the roundtable, along with logistics providers, technology partners and ONDC network participants.
Common Digital Identity, Logistics And Credit In Focus
The roundtable identified five key priorities for strengthening India’s general trade ecosystem.
These include developing a common digital identity for kirana stores to facilitate seamless engagement with multiple brands and service providers; creating shared logistics and micro-warehousing infrastructure to improve distributor reach and enable reliable next-day replenishment; and expanding access to formal credit through financing solutions linked to digital procurement and transaction records.
The discussions also highlighted the need to simplify technology integration through plug-and-play Distributor Management System (DMS) connectors, standardised product catalogues and common digital interfaces.
Another key priority is realigning commercial incentives for FMCG sales teams, distributors and channel partners to encourage digital ordering, wider retail coverage and sustained adoption of the platform.
DigiDukaan Connects 21,000 Retailers With 450 Brands
DigiDukaan has connected more than 21,000 retailers with over 450 brands across Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mumbai as of September 2026, compared with over 12,000 retailers in the previous quarter.
Hyderabad accounts for more than 16,000 onboarded retailers, with monthly repeat ordering rates ranging between 73 per cent and 78 per cent. An initial ONDC study also found that 40 per cent of surveyed retailers reported lower inventory holdings for products procured through DigiDukaan, indicating the potential for improved working capital efficiency.
Goyal said the initiative demonstrated how open digital infrastructure, designed around the needs of small retailers, could accelerate adoption.
“By making procurement simpler and more transparent while strengthening our distributors, we can help kiranas free up working capital and grow,” he said, inviting the FMCG industry to work together to extend the initiative across the country. He also called for DigiDukaan to become a case study for the world to learn from India’s digital commerce model.
DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia said open digital infrastructure had an important role in accelerating the digitalisation of India’s retail ecosystem, particularly its extensive network of kirana stores.
He said DigiDukaan demonstrated how an open and interoperable network could help neighbourhood retailers access digital procurement opportunities and participate more effectively in the evolving digital economy.
FMCG Brands And Technology Partners Expand Participation
ONDC Managing Director and CEO Vibhor Jain said that while distributors had increasingly adopted digital tools for billing, printing and order placement, many neighbourhood retailers continued to depend on manual processes.
DigiDukaan aims to address this gap by digitising kiranas as buyers while strengthening, rather than replacing, the existing distributor network, he said. Jain added that the objective was to create a shared digital foundation through which retailers could access multiple brands, transparent trade schemes, faster replenishment and, eventually, formal credit.
Among FMCG companies participating through their distribution networks are HUL, Marico, Colgate-Palmolive, Emami and Amul. ITC, Tata Consumer Products and Britannia are at various stages of integration or discussions.
On the technology front, Paytm for Business, Qwipo and Mulltiply.ai are live on the network, while Bizom, Botree, QuIDPe and ENS are progressing towards integration. Logistics and warehousing partners, including ElasticRun, Shiprocket, India Post and Moeving, are also part of the expanding ecosystem.
The National Traders’ Welfare Board, chaired by Sunil J. Singhi, is working with ONDC to accelerate adoption among kirana retailers by mobilising local trade associations and strengthening retailer participation.
For its next phase, ONDC plans to deepen brand and distributor participation in Mumbai, particularly North Mumbai, while strengthening operations in its existing markets.
