Which one of the following best describes the key objective of India's 'Open Network for Digital Commerce' (ONDC) initiative?
Correct answer: C
Explanation
ONDC, incubated by DPIIT and run by a Section 8 company, is an open protocol that decouples buyers, sellers and logistics from any single platform, enabling interoperability across e-commerce networks. The aim is to democratise digital commerce and break the dominance of large platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, not to give the government control, replace private players, or mandate UPI. Option (c) captures the policy intent stated in the DPIIT strategy paper. Read more: Indian Space Policy 2023: Liberalising India’s Space Sector for Private Players.