NEW DELHI: Common Services Centers (CSCs), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), on Wednesday joined hands with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to enable e-commerce access to rural citizens across India.

With this joint venture, CSC's e-Grameen application will be integrated into the ONDC network as a buyer application, allowing rural citizens to access the network's extensive e-commerce services.

"Providing services in remote villages of the country has been a challenge. Because of middlemen, producers are not able to get fair prices for their products. After today's partnership, these problems will be curbed and a new path for rural development will open," S. Krishnan, Secretary-Ministry of Electronics and IT, said in a statement.

CSC services will become a part of the ONDC Network in two phases. In phase one, it will be onboarded as a buyer-side platform, allowing citizens visiting CSC to place orders for essentials via the Grameen app.

With over 4 lakh CSC points across India, this will enable millions of new users to access e-commerce, through their trusted neighborhood CSC.

In phase two, CSC sellers registered on the Grameen e-Store will be able to receive orders via ONDC. This will boost entrepreneurship opportunities and incomes for village-level entrepreneurs, driving the vision of Gram Swaraj.

"Through the trusted and widespread network of CSCs, millions of citizens will now have access to essential e-commerce services. Together, we hope to tap into the entrepreneurial promise of village-level entrepreneurs to boost rural incomes aligned with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision," said T. Koshy, MD, and CEO, ONDC.

On this development, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary-Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, said that through ONDC, every business operator, be it small, medium-scale, or large enterprises, is open to selling their goods and services directly to their customers.