Hyderabad, Dec 18: The National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC), a Government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, organised an MSME Marketing Conclave at KLN Prasad Auditorium, FTCCI, Hyderabad, under the TEAM (Trade Enablement & Marketing) Initiative, a key component of the RAMP Programme on Wednesday.
The conclave was organised with the objective of onboarding 5 lakh Micro and Small MSMEs onto the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) platform, a Government of India–backed initiative aimed at creating an open, interoperable digital commerce ecosystem.
Addressing the gathering, Smt. Divya Devarajan, IAS, CEO, SERP, Hyderabad, Chief Gest, stated that “monopoly is not good for democracy” and appealed to micro and small MSMEs to onboard their businesses onto the ONDC platform. She emphasised that traditional e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart operate as closed systems where a single company controls buyers, sellers, data, algorithms, pricing visibility, and logistics. Sellers are forced to operate under high commissions, advertising pressure, and restrictive platform policies, creating strong gatekeeping power.
She explained that ONDC changes this model by moving from a platform-centric approach to an open network, where no single entity owns or controls the market. Buyers and sellers can transact seamlessly using different applications, thereby breaking dependency on dominant platforms. “ONDC helps micro and small MSMEs by making digital commerce open, affordable, and inclusive. For women MSMEs, it offers freedom, flexibility, visibility, and economic empowerment without traditional barriers,” she added.
The conclave aimed to onboard 5 lakh MSMEs from across India, of which 50 percent will be women-led enterprises. Speaking on the occasion, Sri V. Suresh Babu, Zonal General Manager (Telangana & Andhra Pradesh), NSIC, said that similar conclaves are being organised simultaneously across the country to accelerate MSME participation in the ONDC ecosystem.
Over 200 MSME entrepreneurs participated in the conclave. Mr. R. Ravi Kumar, President, FTCCI, urged entrepreneurs to embrace digital platforms, stating, “Go digital or you will miss the bus. If you don’t go online, you are dead offline.”
Mr. Srinivas Nayak, Ms. Swaroopa Rani, Vice President, ALEAP, and other dignitaries also addressed the gathering. Mr. Pradeep of Local Cart gave a presentation on the technical aspects of onboarding to ONDC.
The conclave reinforced the Government of India’s commitment to building a competitive, inclusive, and monopoly-free digital commerce environment for MSMEs, with special focus on women-led enterprises.