‘Build for Bharat’ Initiative

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), in collaboration with Google Cloud India, Antler in India, Paytm, Protean, and Startup India, officially launched the ‘Build for Bharat’ initiative. This nationwide program aims to address challenges in digital commerce, fostering innovation and practical solutions across various sectors. The initiative is expected to draw over 200,000 participants, including startups, enterprises, and educational institutions.

Key Categories of the Initiative:

1. NextGen Ventures (Category 1): Focuses on propelling venture creation on ONDC, providing a pathway for aspiring founders and early-stage teams to raise capital, launch, and scale companies. Winners in this category stand to gain exclusive opportunities, mentorship, and equity-free grants.
2. Scalable Solutions (Category 2): Invites participation from organizations and individuals with a focus on addressing friction points faced by Network Participants (NPs) on the ONDC platform.
3. Foundation Solutions (Category 3): Designed for college students over 18 years of age, aiming to identify proof of concept for the friction points faced by NPs.

Prizes and Collaborations:

• Category 1 winners stand to gain exclusive opportunities from Antler in India, mentorship from industry leaders, and equity-free grants of up to 5 crore rupees ($600,000).
• Category 2 and 3 winners will receive Cloud credits from Google Cloud India to foster further innovation in their projects.

About ONDC

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), established on December 31, 2021, under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, aims to democratize and decentralize e-commerce. ONDC’s mission is to provide customers with more options and autonomy while ensuring accessibility and inclusion for sellers, especially small and local enterprises. The ‘Build for Bharat’ initiative aligns with ONDC’s mission to transform digital commerce in India.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2023

Category: India Nation & States Current Affairs