Business
How ONDC is set to be India’s UPI moment for e-commerce
arket practices from Big Tech and according to Shireesh Joshi, Chief Business Officer (CBO) and President, Network Expansion for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the goal is to create population-scale inclusion of e-commerce in the country.
With ONDC, a Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-type initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote open networks, the government is trying to create the largest interoperable open platform in a bid to break e-commerce monopolies and build a more democratised digital marketplace by bringing micro, small, and medium enterprise as well as small traders online.
Currently, only 5-6 per cent of India’s retail activity is digital.
There are several limitations and constraints of existing platform based e-commerce that will be solved by unbundling and creating interoperability that will further allow any kind of product or service, whether as B2B or B2C, to be transacted on ONDC,” Joshi told IANS in an interview.
One of the immediate outcomes of this unbundling and interoperability is that every seller will have access to every buyer, and vice versa.
“Scale that was limited to a few players will now be available to everyone and help in democratising. E-commerce majors are also in conversation with us for onboarding on ONDC. This is not an anti-anyone initiative,” Joshi elaborated.
The democratisation and innovation that will result from ONDC will allow all kinds of players to flourish and “we will need all these multiple models of e-commerce to help achieve the goal of population-scale inclusion,” he stressed.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has announced that ONDC will gradually be expanded to more cities in the near future, as it has the potential to connect the entire farm value chain.
The Centre also envisions ONDC as a private sector-led, non-profit company to bring focus on ethical and responsible behaviour while providing for trust, rigorous norms of governance, accountability, and transparency.
According to Joshi, an IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore alumnus, for farmers and farmer producer organisations (FPOs), the UPI-type protocol will enable access to a much wider market.
“Your neighbourhood fruit seller might claim that the Apples he sells are from Himachal, or the litchees are from Muzaffarpur. But you may not have a way of being sure. But on ONDC you may be able to buy directly from an orchard in Himachal or UP and be sure,” Joshi noted.
Farms and orchards can become brands too and realise better pricing than as commodities through a multi-tier trading and distribution system.
“Famers will be able access all buyers across the country through a single registration and not have to register with multiple organisations,” he emphasised.
This network-wide buyer access has other benefits too.
For example, it can help determine the best market prices for his products, say the current prices of Himachal apples in Delhi and Jaipur mandis to help decide what price to quote and which order to accept.
“Such a scale will create providers of various kinds of services — packing, warehousing, shipping which will enable cost efficient market reach. Products need not be shipped to markets anticipating demand and risk expiring in case it does not materialise, it can be warehoused and shipped on demand instead,” Joshi told IANS.
On ONDC, farmers will not only sell but also be able to buy seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, equipment and tools.
The initiative has an agri-focused entity in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) as one of its shareholders which has helped it solve technical challenges and engage with several organisations in the agri sector.
According to Joshi, this is not a one-time journey, given the agri sector’s complexity and diversity.
“We expect this to be repeated every few months to keep building and adding to the agri solutions stack. At some stage, the ecosystem itself should kick in and ONDC may not have to facilitate after that,” Joshi elaborated.
Besides this, they are also engaging with state governments to promote adoption of ONDC for agri e-commerce.
“Haryana and Madhya Pradesh governments have begun mobilising support for this and we expect more to follow. Central initiatives like National Agriculture Market (eNAM), which is a pan-India electronic trading portal, is also in active discussion with us on evolving the best way forward,” Joshi informed.
Overall, ONDC will enable lower costs and higher revenues for farmers, enabling more autonomy and benefits for a farmer, said Joshi who has been credited with managing large-scale business operations/strategy in India and China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Asian territories.
Business
NPCI extends ‘UPI One World’ wallet for foreign delegates at India AI Impact Summit 2026

New Delhi, Feb 16: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Monday announced that it has extended its ‘UPI One World’ wallet service for international visitors attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in the national capital.
The summit is being held from February 16 to 20, and visitors from more than 40 countries will now be able to make seamless and secure UPI payments during their stay in India.
Under this pilot initiative, foreign travellers can make real-time Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments using UPI without needing an Indian mobile number or a local bank account.
This means that international guests can enjoy India’s culture, shopping, and food experiences while using “Made in India” digital payment technology.
The ‘UPI One World’ wallet is being made available through authorised prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers at New Delhi International Airport and at the NPCI Pavilion located in Hall 14 at Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue.
Visitors can download the CheqUPI app by Transcorp from the Play Store or App Store and complete a simple registration process.
They need to enter their basic details, upload their passport and visa, take a selfie through the app, and set their UPI PIN. Once registered, a unique UPI ID is generated for them.
Travellers can load the wallet using an international debit or credit card and start making payments by scanning UPI QR codes across India.
This removes the need to carry cash or deal with foreign exchange hassles. Any unused balance in the wallet can be transferred back to the original payment source, in line with foreign exchange regulations.
Users can load up to Rs 25,000 per transaction, with a maximum of two wallet loads allowed per month, taking the total monthly limit to Rs 50,000.
Speaking on the development, Sohini Rajola, Executive Director – Growth at NPCI, said that UPI is the world’s largest real-time payment system.
Business
Mumbai Infra: BMC Plans ₹220-Crore Flyover Between Mahim & Bandra East To Ease Congestion On WEH

Mumbai: In a bid to ease traffic congestion along a crucial stretch of the Western Express Highway (WEH), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has revived plans to construct a flyover connecting Mahim and Bandra (East). The civic body has once again invited tenders for the long-pending project after earlier attempts failed to attract bidders.
The proposed flyover will link Machhimar Colony on Senapati Bapat Marg in Mahim to Bandra (East), providing an alternative route for motorists who currently face severe traffic snarls on the western express highway. The congestion typically begins at Mithi Chowk in Bandra (East) and extends up to Dadar, significantly slowing down traffic on the WEH.
The project is estimated to cost approximately Rs. 220.17 crore. The flyover will stretch for over one kilometre and is expected to ease pressure on existing routes between Mahim and Bandra (East), an area that already includes the Chunabhatti–BKC flyover and the old Kalanagar flyover.
This is not the first time the BMC has attempted to push the project forward. The initial tender, floated in 2022, was withdrawn due to technical issues. A second tender issued in July 2023 failed to receive any bids and eventually lapsed. The bridge department has now reissued the tender, expressing hope that contractors will come forward this time.
The project involves crossing areas near Mithi Chowk, which will require clearances from the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) authorities and the Forest Department. The responsibility of securing these permissions will lie with the appointed contractor.
Once completed, the flyover is expected to streamline traffic flow between Mahim and Bandra (East) and provide relief to commuters using one of the city’s busiest arterial corridors.
Business
Bharat Forge’s Q3 profit falls 17 pc, Rs 2 interim dividend announced

Mumbai, Feb 12: Bharat Forge on Thursday reported nearly 17 per cent year-on-year decline in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 2026 (Q3 FY26).
On a standalone basis, the company posted a net profit of Rs 288 crore lower than Rs 346 crore reported in the same quarter last financial year (Q3 FY25), according to its stock exchange filing.
Standalone revenue from operations saw a marginal dip of 0.6 per cent to Rs 2,083.7 crore in Q3 FY26.
On a consolidated basis, the performance was stronger. Revenue rose 25 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,343 crore, compared with Rs 3,476 crore in the year-ago period.
Net profit increased 28.2 per cent to Rs 273 crore from Rs 213 crore in the corresponding quarter last financial year.
The company said the quarterly numbers included a one-time cost of Rs 55.7 crore, which had an impact on margins.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 20 per cent to Rs 750 crore from Rs 624 crore a year ago.
However, EBITDA margin moderated to 17.3 per cent from 18 per cent in the same quarter last financial year.
The Board of Directors also declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of face value Rs 2 each, which translates to a 100 per cent payout on the face value.
The dividend will be paid on or before March 12, 2026, and the record date for determining eligible shareholders has been fixed as February 18, 2026.
Commenting on the performance, B. N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge, said the results continued to be impacted by de-stocking in the North American commercial vehicle market.
He added that strong growth in the domestic automotive business and execution of the defence order book helped support the overall performance.
On a sequential basis, standalone revenue rose 7 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,084 crore.
EBITDA increased 4.6 per cent to Rs 569 crore, while margins stood at 27.3 per cent. Export revenue declined 3 per cent on a sequential basis, with auto exports falling 13 per cent, even as industrial exports grew 11 per cent.
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