Nandan Nilekani to join govt panel on curbing digital monopolies

Infosys chairman and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani will join a panel set up by the central government, along with eight other members, to advise the government on designing and accelerating adoption of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), aimed at curbing digital monopolies.

The larger idea is to give ‘free and fair’ choice to consumers to buy products on an online platform, a senior government official said.

“The system will help physical traders get on online platforms. This will be done by creating a network based on open protocols through ONDC,” a government official told Business Standard.

The other members of the panel include R S Sharma, National Health Authority chief executive officer, Adil Zainulbhai, Quality Council of India chairman, Anjali Bansal, Avaana Capital founder and chairperson, Dilip Adbe, National Payments Corp. of India CEO, and Arvind Gupta, Digital India Foundation co-founder.

The other members are Suresh Sethi, National Securities Depository head, Kumar Rajagopalan, Retailers Association of India CEO and Praveen Khandelwal, Confederation of All India Traders secretary general.

A senior Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) official will be the convenor of the advisory council.

“ONDC is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers,” an official statement said.

Photograph: PTI Photo