The not-for-profit system, which goes by the unwieldy name of Open Network for Digital Commerce, or ONDC, seeks to address those concerns. Never attempted anywhere else, it aims to allow small merchants and retailers to plug in and gain the reach and economies of scale of giants. Essentially, the government would create its own e-commerce ecosystem for everyone, designed to loosen the stranglehold of companies like Amazon that dictate which brands get access to prime consumers and on what terms.

